Harvey Elliott joined Valencia on loan from Liverpool in the summer, hoping to return and prove his mettle after a difficult spell at Aston Villa last season. “That plan seems to be going down the drain!
However, the 23-year-old Englishman faces a tough battle to win popularity among the club’s supporters, teammates and coaching staff – after being sent off during Valencia’s 2-1 defeat to Villarreal on Saturday night.
Have already disappointed!
The attacking midfielder is on loan from Liverpool until next summer. – Valencia could choose to end the loan relationship until the winter window, which is likely if Elliott continues to blunder.
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Elliott started on the bench but was substituted with 20 minutes left to play, replacing striker Javi Guerra.
The former England Under-21 international came on just after Alex Freeman had equalised for Villarreal, who were reduced to ten men in the 79th minute when Pape Gueye received a direct red card.
But Elliott cost his team dearly by incurring two yellow cards in a row in the 89th minute.
Although the video footage makes it difficult to determine exactly what happened, The Mirror writes that Elliott received a yellow card for a tackle before receiving his second yellow card for protests.
Georges Mikautadze then scored a dramatic late winning goal for Villarreal, and Valencia finished 19th in the La Liga table – with just six points from their first ten games.
Valencia boss strikes back
Valencia’s furious manager Javier Aguirre was Elliott after the game.
“It’s an absurd, ridiculous expulsion,” he said. “I don’t know what he could have said to the referee; he barely speaks Spanish, so to be sent off for something he said just makes me angry.
“It’s a ridiculous decision, and I told him that. It’s not his fault; the fault is mine, but I’ll take it up with him privately. Ultimately, the responsibility is mine, because I’m the one who decides who plays and how we play.
He added:
“We were in a solid position, and it was 11 against 10, but the sending off disrupted everything. We ended up playing an all-or-nothing, completely open game.
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Marginal role so far
Elliott has only played a small role at Valencia so far this season, and Saturday’s incident is unlikely to improve his chances of making his first start for the Spanish club in the near future.
The winger has played 152 minutes in six La Liga games, without scoring or setting up a goal – but has now received one red card.
Elliott was an important player for Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, but seems to have lost his direction in the last couple of seasons.
