Liverpool have set a £40m asking price for the fan favorite who could be ready for a shock exit | soccer
Brighton and Borussia Dortmund lead the race to sign Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott.
The 21-year-old flourished under Jurgen Klopp last season and enjoyed his most productive season in a Reds shirt since his move from Fulham six years ago.
A serious ankle injury has prevented him from making an impact under Klopp’s successor, Arne Slott, but he has been frugal since returning to fitness in November.
In fact, the England Under-21 international has made just nine appearances in all competitions this season and has not started a single match in the Premier League.
according to The sunLiverpool will demand a fee of between £35m and £40m for a player who is unlikely to lack fans.
Speaking about Elliott in November, Slott said: “We always want all our players to be available, and him being injured for such a long period was a blow to him and to us.”
I think he’s been out for three months now. Now we also have to give him time to return to his normal level.
Recently I spoke about Ebou Konate who missed playing football for two, three or four months, because he did not play at the end of the season and did not play in the European Championship.
As a result, his first match against Manchester United in pre-season was not his best.
“That’s quite normal for a footballer and that’s something we have to take into account with Harvey as well.
Yes, he is training with us again, but that is different from being at the top of your game straight away again. We have to give him time for that too.
“But I’m very lucky to have him back, especially with the number of games coming up in the next two, three, four months.”
Meanwhile, Slott believes Federico Chiesa must meet the challenge posed by the strikers currently ahead of him and show his value to the team in the second half of the season.
The Italian is set to make just his fifth appearance of the season, having made just one start and not playing in the Premier League since September, in an FA Cup third round tie at home to Accrington.
Chiesa, who sat on the bench in five of the last seven matches, suffered from not playing a pre-season with Juventus before his move to Anfield for 10 million pounds in late August.
“Not only was it difficult for him in terms of match fitness, but he also had to compete with the likes of Cody Jacobo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah,” Slott said.
“Everyone here knows the numbers that Mohamed Salah brings. There is often no reason to take him out during the game or before the game.
It’s not just Federico when we talk about him being limited in his playing time. It’s also about others.
“But as far as Federico is concerned, it’s definitely about the way he came in, the rest were already training a lot and we had to bring him up in terms of match fitness.
“It’s a combination of reasons why he hasn’t played much yet but let’s wait and see in the coming weeks and months if he’s able to help us because the second half of the season is more important than the first.”
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