Given Liverpool’s ever-growing injury list during the opening weeks of the season, the last thing they needed was to lose any more players to setbacks. Least of all a midfielder.
With nine senior players currently sidelined through injury, and Darwin Nunez still suspended, Jurgen Klopp ’s squad are down to their bare bones. Yet that didn’t stop them from bouncing back from Monday’s defeat to Manchester United in the most emphatic of manners by demolishing newly-promoted AFC Bournemouth 9-0 at Anfield to claim their first win of the campaign.
Yet amongst the countless positives, there was one cause for concern. The sight of Harvey Elliott limping to take his place on the bench ahead of the second half after being withdrawn at half-time.
With Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already sidelined, prompting Klopp to change transfer stance and now admit the Reds will try to sign a new midfielder before Thursday’s deadline, Liverpool cannot afford to lose anymore players from their engine room. Fortunately, on this occasion given the scoreline, it was just a precaution.
“Harvey felt just a little bit,” Klopp told reporters after the final whistle. “In no other game we would take him off but when 5-0 up, we thought if that’s not the moment, then the moment will never come again.
“Nothing after the game. The assessment is good. He should be completely fine.”
Such news is a relief no doubt, given that Elliott was, along with Roberto Firmino, the Reds star performer during the 45 minutes he was on the pitch against the Cherries. Especially when you consider Liverpool are back in action on Wednesday at home to Newcastle United, with that game the start of a run which will see Klopp’s men play three times a week every week, September international break aside, right up until waving off their players for the 2022 World Cup in mid-November.
Playing like a man responding to his manager confirming he wanted to sign a new midfielder, the teenager scored a spectacular first Premier League goal with a stunning long-range effort to double the Reds’ lead with just six minutes on the clock, prompting an emotional celebration as he dropped to his knees and buried his head in the Anfield turf. Meanwhile, he was unfortunate not to claim an assist after linking up well with Firmino and Luis Diaz, only to see Mohamed Salah uncharacteristically miss from close-range with the goal gaping, as he continued to be heavily involved before being replaced.
It later transpired that Elliott played despite a personal bereavement, after his grandmother passed away earlier this week. With the emotion behind his goal now clear, with the midfielder In tears on the pitch after scoring, he would dedicate his goal to her as he wrote on social media, “That win was for you Nan! Rip my queen."
The midfielder would also break down during an interview with LFC TV after the game, heartbreakingly soldiering on despite a broken voice as he wiped away the tears.
Given he made his senior debut four years ago for Fulham, it’s easy to forget Elliott is still only 19 and has only made 25 appearances for the club. He is just a boy and it would have been no slant on him if he had withdrawn his services against Bournemouth given the circumstances.
Yet Liverpool needed him, in the midst of this injury crisis, and the boyhood Red, showing maturity beyond his years, answered that call. Not for the first time since his 2019 switch from Craven Cottage, it is clear Klopp has a special talent on his hands.
With his replacement Fabio Carvalho coming off the bench to score his first goal for the club since his summer move from Fulham with a well-taken volley in front of the Kop, the victory over the Cherries was the first time Liverpool have had two teenagers score in a Premier League game. For all the talk and concern regarding their ageing and injury-prone midfield options, their future at least is in good hands.
The pair, along with Jones, inadvertently played a role in Klopp’s decision to extend his contract at Anfield until 2026 earlier this year, with the German wanting to oversee his squad’s transition and their enhanced roles in it himself rather than handing over the reins.
Meanwhile, it was the trio’s presence which also prompted the Reds boss to favour not signing a new midfielder until next summer, instead favouring to persist with the options at his disposal and continue to turn to his talented youngsters. Alas, injuries now mean he will look to recruit in the next few days after all.
However, any new arrival won’t come at the expense of Elliott. Before his untimely ankle injury last September, he was Liverpool’s star performer during the opening weeks of last season. Meanwhile, while injuries elsewhere might have opened the door to him again this year, he is fully deserving of his role in Klopp’s starting XI.
The reality of the Reds’ intense fixture list became clear last week after the Champions League group-stage draw, which includes a run of nine fixtures in just 30 days in October.
Last year as Klopp’s men chased an unprecedented quadruple, facing an equally strenuous schedule in the process, rotation aided the Reds’ cause and their squad remained, for the majority of the run-in, injury-free. Without such a liberty at the time of writing, even with a potential new midfielder, Liverpool need as many options available as possible to compete.
A new signing won’t block Elliott’s path, he’s already far too good for that. While his tears might have reminded us that he is still just a boy, he continues to perform far beyond his years. A boyhood Red living his dream, he continues to make up for lost time after last year's injury setback.
The Reds might currently lack midfield options at their peak, with Keita the only such player, yet Elliott’s development ensures that will only be a short-term issue. Now Klopp’s jewel is carrying the baton and will be looking to ensure, new signing signed or not, this Liverpool transitional period, caught between two generations, is as smooth as possible. Right at the heart of it, he won't give up his shirt without a fight.
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