Elite club adviser: PFA should've intervened on player's situation at Aston Villa this season

Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott’s loan spell at Aston Villa has been a failure which should have seen the PFA intervene.

That is according to former Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking to Football Insider, who is still tipping Elliott to succeed at another club in his career.

The 23-year-old has appeared just nine times in all competitions for Aston Villa this season, and last played for the club in a Europa League knockout tie against Lille in March.

Aston Villa would have had to have paid Liverpool £35million to sign Elliott if he made 10 Premier League appearances during his loan spell, but Unai Emery said in January that the club were “not convinced” to make the deal permanent.

Liverpool could look to sell Elliott to another club this summer, as he looks to reignite his career following a wasted season at Villa Park.

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Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes the PFA should have done more to investigate why Elliott’s loan move did not work out.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks Elliott’s time at Aston Villa has achieved nothing a loan spell is designed to do.

He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “This is something that the PFA should have been getting involved in at some stage.

“They should have been much more vocal in trying to resolve this issue. A loan spell is supposed to answer a lot of questions about a player’s ability and give them a fresh start. This has done nothing at all in terms of answering any questions.

“It’s just given Elliott more problems. I really feel sorry for Elliott in the way this has worked out. I don’t know if he was badly advised or whether the contract drawn up was badly thought about.

“There’s obviously something wrong there and it just didn’t work. There is a player there and any club who gets him would do very well.”

Elliott’s future at Liverpool is now uncertain heading into the summer transfer window, but there is still expected to be interest in him thanks to his previous performances at Anfield.

Former Manchester City financial advisor Stefan Borson told Football Insider that Liverpool could accept bids of £25m for Elliott this summer.

Leeds have expressed their interest in signing Elliott, as the club look to match Daniel Farke’s ambitions of climbing the Premier League table.

A move abroad could also be an option for Elliott, and Bundesliga club RB Leipzig could reignite their pursuit from last summer.

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