Harvey Elliott raises doubt over Liverpool future after West Ham approach
The 22-year-old made 31 appearances for the Premier League champions last season but started just six games in all competitions.
However, Elliott was one of England's standout performers at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship last month as Lee Carsley's side beat Germany in the final to retain the trophy.
Elliott was crowned UEFA's official Player of the Tournament after scoring five goals in the competition from midfield.
Meanwhile, West Ham have been in talks with Liverpool this month to discuss a deal for Elliott before the start of the new Premier League campaign.
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
And Elliott, who has linked back up with Liverpool's squad for their pre-season tour to Hong Kong and Japan, has suggested he needs to secure more playing time in order to be in contention for a place in England's World Cup squad next year.
'Look, if I had it my way, I'd be here for the rest of my career, it's as simple as that, I love everything about the club,' Elliott told The Anfield Wrap in Hong Kong. More Trending
'But at the same time I kind of need to be selfish with myself and see what's best for me.
'I have big ambitions. I want to go to the World Cup. I want to keep being successful as a player.
'I think it's still something I need to review. I need to have a talk with everyone, really and review the situation because we've had many new players come in, so whether it blocks the path for me I'm not sure, it's something I need to decide and have a look at.
'My main focus is here now. At the moment I'm here for the season, as far as I'm aware, unless if anything changes, we have a busy pre-season, it's non-stop, I need to make sure I'm focus on that and just be ready for everything.'
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE: What is Viktor Gyokeres' goal celebration all about?
MORE: Rivaldo warns Marcus Rashford he isn't taking Barcelona star's first-team spot
MORE: Ajax respond to £34m Chelsea bid to sign Jorrel Hato
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
Asian Cup: tough draw for Matildas, but chance to banish ghosts of India
As Tameka Yallop unfurled the purple scroll revealing the Matildas' final group-stage opponent for next year's Asian Cup, whispers rustled across the Sydney Town Hall crowd. South Korea. The same team that had knocked them out of the quarter-final of this tournament almost four years ago. The game that plunged Australian football fans and media into despair. Memories of India came rushing back. Furious calls for head coach sackings underlined widespread astonishment and growing concern over the direction of the team with a World Cup on the horizon. The Matildas were, after all, close to full-strength then. Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord were reaching their attacking peaks, Mary Fowler was emerging as Australia's newest star, Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley were at their flying wing-back best, Lydia Williams was still Australia's number one goalkeeper. They were expected to win the Asian Cup in 2022. Do we feel the same way now? Australia is a very different team to what they were the last time they competed for this trophy. Their fundamental core has shifted. Injuries and retirements have forced the side to figure out the next version of themselves, and nobody is quite sure what it looks like yet. Partly because the past 12 months under interim coach Tom Sermanni, the last coach to win this tournament for Australia back in 2010, was a year of stasis. With Football Australia taking far too long to appoint a predecessor to Tony Gustavsson, the team wasted several windows trotting out their tired senior players for friendlies when they should have been blooding the next generation instead. So who are the Matildas now? They've lost some older players, gained some newer ones. The form of some key figureheads – Kerr, Fowler, Katrina Gorry – remains uncertain. The team's recent performances haven't been convincing. Are they any better or any worse than they were four years ago? Just how quickly has Asia improved around them? Joe Montemurro, who took charge of his first camp earlier this month, now has just three windows left to figure it out. And they will have the hot spotlight of the nation upon them as they try to solve their past problems against the hardest group of the tournament. Their opening match against the Philippines in Perth on March 1 may seem like an easy one on paper. Australia have won all their previous matches, including an 8-0 drubbing in October 2023. But this is a nation with a plan: led by Australian Mark Torcaso, the Filipinas are full of international diaspora, particularly from the USA college system. Their gallant World Cup performances, an ever-improving youth pipeline, and a large fan community could prove trickier than anticipated. Iran, too – the lowest-ranked side in the group – are no push-overs. While the Matildas have met them just once, Iran defended brilliantly and kept them to just a 2-0 win. Their defeat of rising Asian nation, Jordan, in the final round of qualifiers shows a side steadily improving, and knowing Australia's age-old struggle to break down deep-lying defensive teams, could pose a problem. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion But it's South Korea that will cause the most concern. Never mind that the Matildas defeated them in two friendlies back in April; tournament football is a different fight, and South Korea, who reached the final in 2022 before losing to China, know how to grind through them. The shadow of India will stretch across this must-win group game. South Korea is also a nation that is moving on. Just three of their most recent call-ups have had over 100 caps, while half their current squad is aged below 25. That includes 21-year-old striker Jeon Yu-Gyeong, who stood alongside the 34-year-old Yallop on stage at last night's draw. Two players representing two very different moments for their national teams. Australia aren't without their glimpses of the future, though. Amy Sayer, Winonah Heatley, Teagan Micah, Charlie Grant, Jamilla Rankin and Holly McNamara have all begun to show their qualities in the vacuum of senior stars. And squad depth – as we've seen in the recent Women's Euro – could be critical to topping the group, thus avoiding some of Asia's biggest nations until World Cup qualification (which this tournament doubles as for the final time) is secured in the semi-finals. But with time slipping away and the Matildas' older core needing to reintegrate following a period of directionless wandering, is there enough time to do what needs to be done? Next year's Asian Cup will be a lot of things. A television spectacle, a commercial achievement, a moment in sporting history. It will also be a crucial litmus test; a chance to see just how far the Matildas have come – or, if the ghosts of their past still haunt them, how much further they have to go.
BBC News
a minute ago
- BBC News
How are England placed for next Women's World Cup?
England may still be celebrating their second successive European Championship but it will not be long before attention turns to the next big challenge on the horizon - the Women's World years ago the Lionesses reached the final in Australia for the first time, losing 1-0 to Spain, and it remains the one gaping hole in their trophy Sarina Wiegman, who has now won the Euros three times, has twice been runner-up at a World Cup - once with the Netherlands and once with England - and will be desperate to go one 2027 the tournament will take place in South America for the first time, in Brazil, so what might the England team look like in two years and what are their chances of winning it? Which Lionesses might retire? Lucy Bronze, by far the most experienced member of the England squad, is also the oldest and by the time the World Cup comes around she will be the World Cup is the one major piece of silverware missing from her extensive collection of medals for club and country and after winning their first European title she said "there's still one more we can get our hands on". That is still unfinished business. Bronze has previously spoken about not retiring "unless my body gives up on me" and has shown little sign of her age affecting her availability. Having been involved in 19 of Chelsea's 22 Women's Super League (WSL) games during their title win last season, Bronze then started every England game at Euro 2025, where she was named in Uefa's team of the she did reveal after the final that she had been playing in Switzerland with a fractured leg, while she also suffered a knee injury against Spain - and injuries could become more of an players involved in the current squad who would be over 30 in Brazil are Alex Greenwood, who is currently 31, Beth Mead, 30, and uncapped goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, also player who was not involved in Switzerland and faces an uncertain England future is Millie Bright, who turns 32 next month, and her retirement would not be a surprise. She made herself unavailable at Euro 2025, saying she was not able to give 100% mentally or physically, and while still valued highly by Wiegman, two of her past three seasons have been heavily disrupted by injuries. Who might break into starting line-up? It is impossible not to highlight teenage striker Michelle Agyemang, who has made such a big impression in a small amount of 19-year-old may only have five caps for England, making her debut in April, but she has already scored three memorable goals and played a pivotal role in England retaining their European she continues on her current trajectory she will be pushing Alessia Russo for a starting spot - although may have to displace her at club level first, with both playing for Arsenal. Wiegman could also consider playing them of England's most exciting young talents is Grace Clinton, who has long been tipped to become a regular starter for her country following her impressive displays at club 22-year-old Manchester United midfielder was given a starting role in the absence of the injured Georgia Stanway earlier this year, while Wiegman showed how much she trusted Clinton at Euro 2025 by using her as a substitute in all except the game against Wales, bringing her on in every knockout match when results were in the has been loyal to Keira Walsh and Stanway in midfield but they did not have as great an impact in Switzerland as at previous tournaments and Clinton could be the one to break up the Agyemang and Clinton, highly rated striker Aggie Beever-Jones, midfielder Jess Park and defender Maya le Tissier were also at their first major tournament. With two years' more experience come the World Cup in Brazil, they might be handed much greater United captain Le Tissier, 23, has often been overlooked by Wiegman but continues to impress at club level, and it is in defence where England might make the biggest changes having not fully convinced in Switzerland where they conceded seven goals in six captain Leah Williamson and Bronze have been permanent fixtures in defence, the other centre-back role and left-back have been problem positions, and the manager will hope first-choice candidates emerge to create a consistent back this summer's Euros Wiegman blended youth with experience, but there is plenty to be done over the next two years to develop some of those young players into starters at international defenders who might push the current regulars include Washington Spirit's Esme Morgan, 24, who made one start at Euro 2025, while Aston Villa's Lucy Parker, 26, and Tottenham's Ella Morris, 22, are both uncapped but had England call-ups in the past year. Who will be England's main rivals? It is hard to look further than the United States and USA team are now managed by Englishwoman Emma Hayes, who has restored them to the top of the world rankings after they dropped to fifth following their worst performance at a Women's World Cup in 2023, when they went out in the last to that they had won the previous two World Cups. They bounced back from their disappointment in Australia by winning the Olympics in Paris last summer, just three months after the former Chelsea boss took charge, and will no doubt be among the favourites to lift the trophy in meanwhile, are the World Cup holders and came agonisingly close to adding the European title with their defeat on penalties by England at Euro Switzerland they showed that at their best it is difficult for any team to live with them, while they continue to churn out world-class players with the performances of Barcelona midfielder Vicky Lopez, who has just turned 19, suggesting she will be one to watch in might also play a factor, with the American and Spanish players more accustomed to playing in hot weather than the Lionesses, whose players are mostly based in England. Yet when the men's World Cup was held in Brazil in 2014, Germany's triumph showed that a northern European team could still thrive in unfamiliar team who would be expected to flourish in that climate would be hosts Brazil, who will also have the added boost of home had a disappointing tournament two years ago, failing to make it past the group stage as Jamaica finished ahead of them. But just 12 months later they were impressive at the Paris Olympics, knocking out hosts France and Spain on their way to the final, and where better to end their search for a first international title than on home soil?When it comes to major tournaments it is also hard not to mention two-time champions Germany, while perennial underachievers France and former winners Japan are capable of competing with the world's best.
BBC News
a minute ago
- BBC News
What would Watkins offer Man Utd?
Manchester United transfer target Ollie Watkins has provided consistent goal threat for Aston Villa since joining from Brentford in 2020, more than justifying his transfer fee of £28m rising to £33m with Torquay-born striker has reached double figures in all five of his seasons with Villa and his 19 Premier League goals in 2023-24 equalled a club record. He has also been available for the vast majority of games, featuring in 184 of 190 top-flight principal strengths are pace and movement, traits that have enabled him to register 211 shots on target in the past five Premier League seasons, second only to Mohamed Salah. And yet, while he is a constant source of danger, his finishing statistics have seasons ago, Watkins enjoyed a hot streak in scoring 27 times across all competitions, overperforming his expected goals total by 6.2 and netting with 20% of his figures regressed last season, with the England international underperforming his expected goals total by four and converting 15.3% of his perhaps did not help that during the first half of the campaign he was often replaced by Jhon Duran in the closing stages of games, allowing the Colombia striker - rather than Watkins - to capitalise when space opened in the Premier League, Watkins missed a league-high 27 'big chances' (as defined by Opta), scoring only a third of such opportunities. That compares to a success rate of approximately 50% for peers such as Salah, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Yoane this, he does offer more than just goals. Since the start of 2023-24, he has provided 27 assists, the third-highest total by a Premier League player in all competitions over that 29, Watkins may not offer a long-term option for United but he would be a clear upgrade on their current options. If Villa can be persuaded to sell.
