Sources: Charlotte FC monitoring Harvey Elliott as Liverpool loanee nears potential Aston Villa exit

Elliott made the move to Villa on deadline day, joining the club on loan with an obligation to buy if the midfielder made 10 appearances for the club. Elliott has featured just five times for the club, though, and has not featured since September, with Villa seemingly having no interest in triggering that purchase clause.

Due to FIFA rules, however, Elliott would be unable to join most clubs in the world. Rules state that a player can not feature for three clubs that operate with a summer-to-spring schedule, which would rule out a vast majority of the world's leagues. Elliott played one minute for Liverpool prior to making his September move to Villa.

One league that does not operate on that schedule, at least for now, is Major League Soccer, which means Charlotte are one of the few clubs in the world that could offer Elliott playing time ahead of the World Cup if neither Villa nor Liverpool have a plan to use him in the second half of their Premier League seasons.

Sources told GOAL that the situation between Charlotte and Elliott is merely exploratory for the moment and that any possible interest would greatly depend on what is worked out between Liverpool and Villa first.

News of Charlotte's interest in Elliott was first reported by Fabrizio Romano.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that the club was considering cutting Elliott's loan spell short during this January transfer window, but that nothing had officially been decided between Villa and Liverpool.

“I am respecting him all we can because he’s a very good professional, very respectful, but the situation we have is something,” Emery said. “I must make a decision, but not damage the person because he’s a very good person and player, and he deserves the best. After he leaves, we can maybe use the position he is in to work for something.”

He added, “The problem we have with Harvey is this year he is on loan and, in case he is playing matches, we must buy him. We decided two months ago that we are not convinced to sign him."

This wouldn't be the first time Charlotte took advantage of that FIFA rule to sign a marquee player. Just last season, the club added Premier League veteran Wilfried Zaha, who was loaned from Galatasaray to Lyon in August of 2024. That loan was terminated in January 2025, paving the way for Zaha to head out on another loan to Charlotte, where he'll remain until at least this June.

Zaha was a key figure for Charlotte this season, hitting double digits in both goals and assists to lead the club to the playoffs. The club is managed by former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith.

Entering the weekend, Aston Villa sit third in the Premier League, six points behind league leaders Arsenal. Liverpool, meanwhile, are behind them in fourth place, trailing Villa by six points through 19 games.