Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has spoken about Harvey Elliott‘s loan spell with Blackburn Rovers and could have inadvertently uncovered the answer to a huge challenge within the Reds’ squad.
Jurgen Klopp’s number two was speaking to the club’s official website when he was asked about Elliott’s development whilst on loan in the Championship, saying: ”I miss him! I would have loved to continue working with him, but it’s a good decision of course because he can play many games and he can show what he’s really about.”
The Dutchman went on to praise how “impressive” the 17-year-old has been this season (three goals and five assists in 14 games) and the qualities the youngster possesses, namely his “constant threat of the final pass and the dribble and the shot”.
With Diogo Jota ruled out for around two months with a knee injury, Liverpool could use a player with the guile and quality of Elliott.
This week, a report from Lancs Live suggested the Reds had ‘no intention’ of recalling the teenager and were unaware of any clause allowing them to do so.
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Should Liverpool be allowed by the terms of the loan deal, recalling Elliott whilst Jota is out, with a view to the winger returning to Lancashire at the end of January, makes perfect sense.
In far better form than Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino as well as being fitter than Xherdan Shaqiri, the former Fulham academy prospect represents a viable ready-to-play alternative to Liverpool’s regular front three.
A temporary recall isn’t beyond the realms of possibility for Klopp, who did something similar last January when Nat Phillips returned from his spell with VfB Stuttgart to play in the Merseyside derby before heading back to Germany.
