Arne Slot reveals Liverpool's plan for Harvey Elliott after nightmare Aston Villa loan

Slot has provided clarity on Elliott's future, confirming that the young midfielder will rejoin the Liverpool squad for pre-season training. The 23-year-old spent the majority of the current campaign on loan at Villa Park, but the move did not provide the regular first-team football all parties had anticipated when the deal was struck.

Addressing the media ahead of Liverpool's upcoming Premier League clash against Villa, Slot was clear about where Elliott will be playing his football next term. "He’s contracted to us so he will be with us in the start of the season," the Dutchman stated, shutting down any immediate talk of another temporary exit for the talented playmaker.

The loan move to the West Midlands was intended to accelerate Elliott’s growth, but he has been limited to just 284 minutes of competitive action across the entire season. This lack of involvement has come as a surprise to many, especially given the promise Elliott showed during the U21 European Championships and his previous contributions in a Red shirt.

Slot admitted that the situation has been far from ideal for the player's progression. "I think for him, for everyone, it didn’t work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him," Slot explained.

While Slot refused to critic Emery's selection choices directly, he expressed his disappointment at seeing such a high-potential player spending so much time on the bench. The Liverpool boss noted that Elliott had actually enjoyed more playing time at Anfield prior to the loan than he did during his stint with the Villans.

"That hasn’t happened a lot. That’s not for me to answer why that is," Slot said. "But of course, it’s never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made – I assume – even more minutes with us than these 280. He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen."

Despite the nightmare nature of the loan in terms of statistics, Slot remains a firm believer in Elliott's technical ability. He referenced the midfielder's international pedigree as a reason why the club still holds him in such high regard ahead of the new season, suggesting that a fresh start at Merseyside is exactly what is needed.

"And for such a talented player that did so well in the U21 Euros [last summer], you want a player like that to get more and more playing time," Slot added. "He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players. I don’t know why he hasn’t made the minutes he was expecting. That’s not for me to answer. But it’s always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the [U21] Euros that he’s such a good player."