Things tend to move quickly on transfer deadline day. It’s only been a few hours since news broke that Aston Villa were pushing to sign 22-year-old Liverpool attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott before the window slammed shut, but initial reports appeared to set the two clubs a long way apart.
Villa, it was said, were seeking a loan. Liverpool, on the other hand, wanted a permanent deal. How would the two
sides bridge a gap like that in the final hours of the summer transfer period? As it turns out, they’d do a little of both and work towards a loan deal with a purchase obligation for 2026.
It’s a structure that would help Villa get around a significant profit and sustainability rules (PSR) crunch, with a potential loan fee inflating the eventual sale price from Liverpool’s point of view while giving Elliott a long-term future at one of England’s biggest and most historic football clubs.
The mooted £35M fee set out as the floor for getting any deal done seems a touch low in the current market, but a loan fee for the 2025-26 season could help tick that up and for all Elliott’s promise, it’s clear the Reds aren’t negotiating from a position of particular strength in this situation.
With Liverpool’s midfield depth chart seemingly set and the imminent arrival of striker Alexander Isak in a £125M mega deadline day deal from Newcastle, there simply doesn’t seem space left for Elliott at Liverpool. Hopefully, if it is to be Villa, he can go on to thrive in Birmingham.
