Football
Exclusive: Harvey Elliott Set for MLS Move as Frustrating Season at Villa Leaves England Star in Limbo
Unsettled Liverpool winger Harvey Elliott is considering a move to the United States to revive his career after a disappointing loan spell at Aston Villa. Interest from MLS clubs like Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire, and New York City has emerged. Elliott's future at Liverpool is uncertain, and he may need to go abroad to get back on track.
Liverpool v Athletic Club Bilbao - Pre-Season Friendly by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA | Getty Images
Unsettled Liverpool winger Harvey Elliott is ready to bite the bullet and go and play in the United States to resurrect his career, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The former England Under-21 international has seen his season-long loan spell at Aston Villa go sour.
Elliott can’t get in the side and Villa boss Unai Emery has said the playmaker is surplus to requirements.
The original plan was for Villa to sign the 22-year-old at the end of the season in a £35million deal, but Emery has revealed the club were “not convinced” to sign him on a permanent deal.
Emery added: "This is not something good for him and good for us, but this is football and sometimes we must take some decisions which are not good for everyone."
And that has left Elliott in limbo because he cannot now play for another Premier League clubs this season having already played for Liverpool earlier in the campaign.
The obligation to buy was based on Elliott playing ten Premier League games for Villa, but he has mustered just three league games for Emery’s side.
Two of the games were as a substitute and, in his only start in a 3-1 home win over Fulham, he came off at half-time.
FRUSTRATING SEASON
In all Elliott has played just seven games all season, mainly from the bench in what has proved to be, arguably, the most frustrating season of his fledgling career.
Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC have expressed an interest in trying to sign Elliott, with the club now managed by ex-Villa boss Dean Smith.
But our sources have learnt that both Chicago Fire and New York City have both reached out to the player’s representatives about potentially doing a deal for Elliott to play in America next season.
It remains to be seen whether he can get back in Liverpool’s first team, and the prospect of playing for the club’s Under-21 set-up is hardly that inspiring given he won the European Championships with England at that level.
However, Elliott knows he needs to play games to stand any chance of getting his derailed career back on track, and a move to the US is now firmly on the cards.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.