Given everything he has experienced and achieved already in his short career, it is easy to overlook the fact that Liverpool starlet Harvey Elliott is still only 18.
Elliott became the youngest-ever player to appear in the Premier League during his early days at Fulham at the age of 16. It was that outing that confirmed to the many admirers watching from afar that he had significant potential — and Liverpool wasted no time in moving to snap him up.
The complications of young players moving between English clubs meant that the Reds were able to snap up Elliott for just £4.3million after a tribunal hearing. Considering his enormous potential and effect on the first-team already, that could prove to be a steal.
He soon made his own history with the Merseyside club, starting against MK Dons in the Carabao Cup to become the club’s youngest-ever starter in September 2019. That demonstrated Klopp’s faith in his ability early on and he has never looked back.
The promising midfielder had crept into the senior squad in the early weeks of the campaign after impressing during pre-season and also on loan with Blackburn Rovers last season. But his progress was almost wiped away in a mere few seconds after sustaining a dislocated ankle against Leeds United back in October.
It is a moment Klopp called one of the worst of his football career, fearing that a talent he had nurtured would be permanently affected by his time of the sidelines. Elliott was stretchered off in agony and taken to hospital, with the club’s fans anxiously waiting for updates.
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After his injury was diagnosed, there was cautious optimism Elliott would come back to his best in no time. But there have been enough examples at the club over the years to prove that talent alone is not always enough to make it at Anfield.
However, Elliott proved to be the exception, capping his return to full fitness with a goal against Cardiff City in the FA Cup - his first for the club in 19 appearances. There was a notable reaction from the players in embracing the youngster as he celebrated, showing their appreciation for the emotions he had experienced while out injured.
“It was apparent after the game when our players were showing their love and joy towards Harvey that there was a recurring theme: hard work pays off,” Klopp wrote in the club’s official programme notes. "And what I loved about Harvey’s own comments post-match is that he was the first to recognise the hard work wasn’t only his.”
It is fair to say that feeling of respect is reciprocated by Elliott, who recognises Klopp as a father figure rather than an imposing football coach: “The warmth that he brings, it's a joke,” Elliott told the club’s official website. “He is [a father figure].
“You see it a lot, how he is with players, his players and how he interacts with the fans. He's the best possible man for the job, I can say, and the best possible person to be learning off."
For all of his natural ability and dazzling skill, Elliott has demonstrated his impressive work ethic, which is crucial to fitting in under Klopp and his brand of heavy metal football. It is also something that has endeared him to the Liverpool fans and they sing his name just as often as heroes like Mohamed Salah.
He was rewarded for his stellar comeback with a start in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 knockout tie against Inter Milan. While it was not a vintage display, he managed to get 59 minutes of invaluable experience under his belt and generally coped with the pressure of playing at the San Siro, one of Europe's most daunting arenas.
After being eased back into the first-team fold since his return from injury, Elliott has now received a long-awaited chance to strut his stuff on the international scene with the England Under-21s. He has been included in Lee Carsley’s squad for the Young Lions’ European Championship qualifier against Andorra on Friday and is expected to start.
It is merely the next chapter in a book that is destined to be filled with numerous glory-filled memories, as Liverpool’s next homegrown star finds his way to the top of the game. If he is impresses, there is little doubt he will appear on Gareth Southgate’s radar in the coming months and, with some good fortune in his favour, potentially work his way into his World Cup plans.
