Heading into pre-season with Liverpool, there was plenty of hope that with a new manager in charge it might be an opportunity for Harvey Elliott to get back on track after a horror season on loan at Aston Villa that saw that club bench the player early in the season to avoid triggering a £35M mandatory purchase clause.
Elliott, though, looked off the pace from the start. Even by the end of the summer he still appeared short of the fitness levels of the youth and fringe players he would have been expected
to compete with for minutes—players like 21-year-old forward Lewis Koumas and 19-year-old midfielder Trey Nyoni. In the end, it was hardly a surprise when instead of sticking he headed back out on loan.
This time, the now 23-year-old headed to Spain and Valencia, and this time it was with no complicating purchase clauses that could potentially derail his chance of impressing. So far, he’s made three substitute appearances and played 85 minutes for Valencia, which have just been a sign of a player settling in at a new club.
However, with team football on pause for three weeks due to an extended international break and Elliott now having spent a month with his new club for the 2026-27 season, word out of Spain is that Valencia aren’t happy with his fitness levels and don’t feel he’s ready to play—and that they were expecting more when they agreed to pay almost the entirety of his Liverpool salary.
On the surface that might not seem a major investment, but according to Marca it makes Elliott their third-highest payed player this season when it comes to Valencia’s investment. Suffice to say, they didn’t agree to that expecting Elliott to be a super sub playing less than thirty minutes a match. They expected a starter.
From a strictly human point of view, it’s east to have sympathy for Elliott. Not only did the young attacking midfielder barely play a minute last season after Villa told him they didn’t value him enough to spend a hardly exorbitant £35M on him, but that came after a 2024-25 season at Liverpool where it was clear then-head coach Arne Slot didn’t value him the way Jürgen Klopp had previously.
His career has in many ways been put on hold now for two seasons—and that has to take a mental toll. Valencia, though, wanted him. They were willing to pay wages higher than to all but two of their other players to get him in for the season. If he was fit and showing good form, he’d be one of the first names on the teamsheet.
While it’s hardly positive to hear that they’re currently unhappy with his fitness levels, then, Elliott at least does have three weeks to hopefully get himself on track a little bit knowing that if he can, unlike Aston Villa last season Valencia do want him there and intend for him to play major minutes for them this season in a key role if he’s up to getting himself up to the task.
