If Harvey Elliott has learned anything from his new-found status at Liverpool, it is that less is sometimes more.
After 46 appearances for the Reds across all competitions last season, the 20-year-old would have viewed the summer departures of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a chance to propel himself up the Anfield pecking order.
Unfortunately for Elliott, though, the arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch have restricted him to just one Premier League start from the opening nine matches.
However, that hasn’t prevented the England Under-21 international from rubber-stamping his mark on the Reds’ early-season success, with his cameo in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Everton the latest in a long line of eye-catching outings.
In fact, Liverpool’s win in the 243rd Merseyside derby was nearly sealed with a dipping, Kop-end strike from Elliott. Despite not scoring, though, he would later enjoy the acclaim of the Kop as he beelined to Mohamed Salah to join in with his celebrations after the Egyptian had fired a game-clinching second.
Elliott’s sole start of the Premier League season came at Brighton & Hove Albion prior to the October international break as the Reds suffered a late-sucker punch when Lewis Dunk secured a share of the spoils for the home side.
On the South Coast, Elliot’s impact was stifled significantly by Roberto de Zerbi’s team as he was limited to just 22 touches – the lowest of any Liverpool starter – before being replaced by Gravenberch at half-time. The Reds’ No.19 struggled especially with the physical aspects of his assignment, winning just one of his three duals against the impressive Carlos Baleba and Pascal Gross.
A much-deserved starting berth at the Amex had come after a string of impressive performances from the substitutes’ bench in the weeks gone by as he helped rally Liverpool to victory against Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers. His premature withdrawal was understandably a bitter pill to swallow as he was made to watch the second half from the away dugout,
Off the back of such disappointment, as the Reds dropped points for the second consecutive Premier League outing, Elliott was handed a string of much-needed outings during the international break for England’s under-21s team as he starred in their 9-1 victory over Serbia before captaining the Young Lions for the first time against Ukraine three days later.
Such a momentous landmark, though, would not be enough to afford the midfielder a second Premier League start of the season as he was overlooked in favour of Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, who were tasked with taking the game to Liverpool’s Stanley Park rivals.
On an afternoon where the 10 men of Everton stood firm after losing Ashley Young to a second yellow card in the 37th minute, Liverpool’s patience was always going to be stretched as the contest edged deeper into Saturday afternoon.
Of course, there was an element of fortune in the way the Reds were awarded a penalty in the 74th minute when Luis Diaz’s cross struck the hand of Michael Keane. Such fortune, though, arose from Liverpool’s tolerance and maturity to stick to their principles throughout the second half. In fact, no matter how desperately Hames Pickford, James Tarkowski and Co looked to dishearten the home crowd and waste valuable seconds at Anfield, the Reds never showed signs of panic.
An ability to do so can be traced back to Elliott’s introduction in the 62nd minute when he entered the field as part of a double substitution alongside Darwin Nunez. As has been the case on numerous occasions already this season, Elliott’s arrival allowed Liverpool to increase the heat on their opponents for the final third of the game.
Much his success emanated from his capability to move the ball quickly, particularly to Salah, who he passed the ball to eight times during his 28 minutes on the field. In doing so, Salah could pick the ball up from deeper and run at the Blues’ now five-man back line.
It wasn’t just Salah who Elliott was able to pick out. In fact, the youngsters ended his second-half cameo with a 100% pass completion rate (31/31), which played a crucial role in the Reds effectively recycling possession.
On numerous occasions last season such patience was absent from Liverpool’s play as their efforts frequently waned in games despite starting brightly. In ensuring the tempo was maintained at Anfield, 14 of Elliott’s 31 passes came in the final third of the pitch and 11 of those were deemed to be progressive.
For a player who started the home victories over Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United last season, and this time last year was netting in back-to-back Champions League away games, the prospect of a bit-part role in the Merseyside derby was never going to suffice.
Elliott is expected to be handed a full opportunity to impress on Thursday when French Cup winners Toulouse visit Anfield in the Europa League. That is the first of 15 games – 16 should progression be secured in next week’s Carabao Cup tie against Bournemouth – Liverpool are scheduled to play in the remaining 68 days of 2023.
“I feel I can do a job wherever I’m put,” said Elliott last week on the increasing competition for places in Jurgen Klopp’s team. “The most important thing is putting that red shirt on and playing. I’m working as hard as I can to get into the team.
“It’s down to me to make sure I apply myself and not only show the boss but show the world I’m good enough to play wherever I’m put.”
It means even with less than 200 minutes of Premier League action to his name so far this campaign, opportunities will arise for Elliott in the coming weeks and months.
But as he is learning as part of his new remit at Anfield, less really is sometimes more.
