Jurgen Klopp attempted to make good on the one primary regret he had before leaving Liverpool but Harvey Elliott still finds himself in the same position
Fasika Zelealem Senior Sports Reporter
18:00, 27 Oct 2025
Jurgen Klopp showed in the summer just how much of a fan he is of Harvey Elliott(Image: Lukas Kabon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Jurgen Klopp showed just how much of a fan he is of Harvey Elliott when attempting to prise him away from Liverpool thanks to his current job. It was the ex-Reds boss who brought the Englishman to Anfield in 2019 when he was just 16 years of age.
Initially a winger, it was under Klopp’s stewardship that Elliott was converted into a central midfielder and wound up making 149 appearances for the club, while capturing five major honours, including two Premier League titles.
Open with his love for the ref half of Merseyside, Elliott opted for pastures new last month when joining Aston Villa on loan. The Villans are obligated to pay a £35million fee to make the transfer permanent next year when the 22-year-old makes 10 appearances for the club.
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Despite his bit-part role last season under Arne Slot, Elliott reminded potential suitors of his ability when captaining England’s U21 team to European Championship glory this past summer, while being named best player at the tournament.
One person who certainly didn’t need the reminder was Klopp, who was a huge fan of the midfielder and even admitted the one chief regret he had in his nine-year tenure at Anfield was that he didn’t play the Englishman enough.
It was in May 2024 that he said: “It’s not that I go back and think, ‘OK, what did we all do wrong?’ But if I regret one thing a little bit, it’s that Harvey didn’t play often enough, maybe. Because in a very important, intense period – January, with a lot of injuries – he played really well.
Harvey Elliott hasn’t featured in Aston Villa’s last three league games(Image: Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
“He was probably our best player – right wing, right midfield, all these kinds of things. Then everybody came back, and he had minutes here, minutes there, and he didn’t start anymore.”
Elliott was open about his future in the summer and it was Klopp, the Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, who came calling with RB Leipzig. They were interested in signing the midfielder before he decided to stay in England.
Unfortunately for Elliott, the move to the Midlands hasn’t worked out as of yet as he’s been forced to a significant bench role since his September arrival. He’s started just two games across all competitions for Villa and was most recently left out of the matchday squad in their 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday.
Klopp attempted to prise Elliott away from Liverpool amid RB Leipzig’s summer interest in the midfielder(Image: Marcel Engelbrecht – firo sportphoto, Getty Images)
Villa boss Unai Emery expressed what is required of his players amid Elliott’s lack of action as he explained: “I am being very, very demanding myself to choose in each match the player to start and the players on the bench and the subs players, and firstly is always trying to get the best performance collectively, through individual players.
“Harvey is a 10 number in our structure, in our shape, and he plays some matches and there is still adaptation to add himself individually in our structure, the task we have. Of course, he is training well, and his commitment is being very well as well, but his performance was not enough.”
The Spaniard continued: “At the same time, we have other players who can play as a 10 and they are performing well, and I have different players. This is the main reason he is not playing the last matches minutes, but he has to continue working like he is doing in the training session and of course getting his confidence in the performance we need through him.”
While the possibility is slim, the door remains open for Elliott to make a remarkable return to Anfield, should Emery continue to snub him from his matchday squad. But Klopp’s comments suggest that may be a mistake from the Villa boss given it’s something he came to regret himself.
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