Statistics do not always tell the whole picture. He may, by his own admission, have fallen short of his principal goal,But no Liverpool fan left Anfield on Wednesday night without being impressed with Harvey Elliott.And his superb performance in the Reds’ 5-1 League Cup hammering of West Ham United has done more than just set up a semi-final clash with his former club Fulham next month.
With the leaders of the Premier League visiting on Saturday evening, Elliott has put himself in contention for only his second top-flight start of the seasonHowever, his all-action performance on the right flank – having started for the rested Mohamed Salah – provided a compelling reason that the England under-21 international can be an appealing option on the wing when Salah departs for Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations, which goes from January 13 to February 11.
PHOTO ; Harvey Elliot
“It was good,” adds Elliott, who has mostly played on the right side of the midfield trio in previous seasons. “I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite position, but it’s one I can play and one I grew up playing as a kid.” I’m simply delighted to get out there and play when I can..
“I always have to be ready, and during that time (when Salah is at AFCON), I could be playing out wide.” But expressing this is pointless; it is up to me to put in the effort and training to earn those possibilities.
“It is not going to be handed to me. I’ll have to put forth some effort. As we’ve seen this season, numerous players can play the position, including Dom Szoboszlai and Kaide Gordon. Who knows what will happen in January?”
“The only kind of difference is defensively I have a different role,” Elliott says of playing on the wing. But, in possession, it’s the same situation, the same way I’ve been coached to play, going into those half-spaces, seeing where other players are, and taking a place off them. But I can’t tell where or how I’m meant to play since that would give it away!”
Unlike in the Premier League, when he was removed at half-time on his solitary start against Brighton in October, Elliott has started all nine League Cup and Europa League games. While receiving praise for his performance on Wednesday, he was critical of his inability to add to his one goal and two assists this season.
“I’m disappointed in myself; I feel like I should have scored a few goals, but I’m just glad the team won,” Elliott adds. “The team put in an incredible performance, especially the lads who scored the goals, and Curtis Jones was outstanding.” It’s all very well doing what I did, but at the end of the day, my job is to score and produce, and I didn’t do either, so it’s something I need to think about.
“I’m pleased with myself, but I’m also annoyed with myself.” But it’s not about who scores the goals; it’s about completing the task and progressing to the next round.”
