How good has Elliott been at Liverpool?

BBC News

3 hours ago

Harvey Elliott joined Liverpool in July 2019, two months after becoming the Premier League's youngest player at just 16 years and 30 days.As he settled in, he was only given seven minutes of top-flight action in the title-winning 2019-20 season before impressing on loan at Championship side Blackburn Rovers during the following Covid-affected season.Since then, it has been patchy. Scattered good form has dovetailed with significant spells on the bench and a player whose future looked so promising now finds his career at a crossroads.So is it fair for Arne Slot and Liverpool to be keeping him sidelined?His numbers since the 2021-22 season are unconvincing.
He is ninth for chances created, 14th for goals scored and eighth for assists, behind the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo, who all moved to Anfield after Elliott.It it scant reward for a talent who is currently tearing up his second straight Under-21 European Championship as second top scorer (four goals) and a constant supplier of opportunities.Naturally, there is mitigation. Over this time period, he ranks 19th for minutes played - only just above Kostas Tsimikas - so he has not been afforded the same opportunities on the pitch to consistently provide impressive numbers.Dig a little deeper, though, and the case for keeping him further weakens.While minutes can massage the numbers over goals and assists, they cannot account for efficiency and, when given the chance, in certain areas Elliott has not been effective enough.
The above graph shows metrics such as passing and shooting accuracy and here his success rate is poor relative to his team-mates.Similarly, he is not a particularly effective dribbler, being successful only 45% of that time.Now, in fairness to Elliott, he is a player who takes risks with the ball so might be expected to have weaker attributes. After all, Mohamed Salah's passing accuracy ranks him 39th for Liverpool over the past four seasons - and he has not done too badly.However, Elliott's key competitors for a midfield berth, all boast better accuracy and from a larger sample size of minutes.Neither is the England Under-21 star a particularly effective dueller - his 46% success rate ranking him 21st.While Elliott has had his moments in a Liverpool shirt, under Slot last season his performances were limited and his end product even more so.Fine displays in this summer's international tournament have boosted his profile but, rather than give him oxygen for a push into the Liverpool XI, it is probably more likely to increase his price for a host of European suitors.Find and follow your Premier League team on BBC Sport