Harvey Elliott has admitted he is constantly heeding advice and learning lessons from Liverpool’s more senior players as he looks to shape the ‘future’ of the club.
The 19-year-old has been the shining light in an otherwise disappointing start to the season for the Reds, featuring in every Premier League or Champions League game and racking up more top-flight minutes than any other teenager. The attacking midfielder’s increasing stature within the first-team was reflected with a new-and-improved five-year contract in August.
But despite arguably being the club’s best and most consistent performer thus far, the former Fulham star admits he still looks up to his senior teammates and hangs on their advice in and around the AXA Training Centre - including the well-known bread-related lesson from Mohamed Salah during the pre-season of 2021, in which the Egyptian suggested he half his intake and start eating wholemeal.
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“To have these players here and the chance to learn from them is amazing,” Elliott told The Times . “They all want me to do well and are giving me pointers, for example Mo with the bread. I have taken it on board.
“My breakfast is mainly bread with beans or avocado. I did eat bread in the morning, but that was white bread. Now I have changed it to brown bread which is a lot healthier. He is not someone to say, ‘You need to be doing this, you need to be doing that.’ He is more of a guy who helps you out and gives you pointers, and you go away and think about it.
“Now it is always in my head. At the time I was thinking, ‘What is he on about? I’m just having breakfast!’ But looking back there are so many things you can change in your diet and it is just about the small margins. That is a prime example of what he is like.”
There is no escaping that those senior players - the likes of Salah, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Thiago Alcantara - aren’t getting any younger, and the eagerness to add youth over the summer hints at a squad transition in the near future. Elliott’s former Fulham academy teammate Fabio Carvalho joined Darwin Nunez and Calvin Ramsay as summer arrivals, and it will be up to them to carry the mantle once others move on.
With three years under his belt and an ever-increasing prominence in the first-team picture, Elliott will likely be at the forefront of any future rebuilds, and the youngster is of no doubt that he and his young teammates can be the future of the club.
“Without sounding big-headed we feel the future is a big part of the team,” the teenager added. “If you look at the likes of Fábio Carvalho, Ibrahima Konaté, people forget Trent’s age [24], Darwin [Núñez, 23], Joe Gomez [25] . . . these are young, up-and-coming players. I think it is bringing something else to the game across football. That energy and hunger to want to go out and impress.
“You see so many young players coming through now at all clubs. Phil Foden is an unbelievable talent starting in this City team. And at Liverpool, the pathway is there. You can see it with the gaffer and the way he is with the younger guys, how he wants to bed them into the team. There is no better person to play under than Jürgen.”
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