How do you solve a problem like Harvey Elliott?

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As official confirmation of Florian Wirtz’s signing edges closer, the Liverpool player he could push further out of the picture had his mind on other things.

Harvey Elliott spent Wednesday night playing for England in the Under-21 European Championship — against Germany, as it happens — so probably could not spare a thought for Wirtz flying in from that country this week to complete his medical.

There were already question marks surrounding Elliott’s future after he made only 28 appearances (six starts) in head coach Arne Slot’s 2024-25 debut season, but Wirtz’s arrival from Bayer Leverkusen will see only the 22-year-old dropping down the pecking order. More than ever, Elliott may look at his new team-mate and feel that his future lies away from Anfield.

Elliott has been unfortunate. After a strong pre-season, three months out with a broken foot made it difficult to find a path into Slot’s team after Dominik Szoboszlai made the No 10 spot his own.

He did contribute, notably in January victories over Brentford and Lille, and then — most memorably — with the late winner in the Parc des Princes against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of a Champions League last 16 tie.

Elliott’s goal at PSG was a highlight last season (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Through most of the season, Elliott used occasional interviews to stress that Liverpool are his club and that his focus was on earning more minutes with them. But recently, his tone has changed.

“It’s just a situation that me, and the team on my behalf, have to have a conversation about,” he told reporters ahead of the start of the Under-21 Euros. “I’m going to be 23 next season, and I don’t really want to be wasting years of my career, because it’s a short career.

“I just want to improve and be the best player I can be. If that’s to go somewhere else, then it’s a decision I’m going to have to make. Nothing makes me want to leave. I love the club, I love the fans, the team. I support them as well. It’s just about what’s best for my career.”

So, what is that Elliott excels at, and what would be his next best move?

One issue for Elliott is that his lack of regular game time makes it difficult for anyone — including possible suitors — to make a definitive assessment of just how good he is. He has made just 25 Premier League starts in six years, a tiny number even allowing for the very young age at which he made his top-flight debut for Fulham (16 years, 30 days).

Elliott can play out wide, but the No 10 spot is where he seems to flourish most. Ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup tie with Accrington Stanley in January, Slot spoke to him about starting him out wide, with the youngster keen to get a chance at 10.

Based on where he creates his chances, you can see why. He naturally appears a lot outside the area but also that right half-space, level with the penalty spot, where he can cross with his left foot.

England Under-21s manager Lee Carsley has used Elliott as one of his No 10s in a 4-2-2-2 system. Elliott scored the opening goal in the side’s first group game of the tournament — a 3-1 win against the Czech Republic — before earning the man-of-the-match award in the 0-0 draw with Slovenia second time out.

But he was unable to build on that in the final group game on Wednesday evening. Wearing the captain’s armband with Manchester City’s James McAtee named on the bench, Elliott, along with the rest of his teammates endured a difficult evening as they were beaten 2-1 by a rotated German side.

Deployed further forwards, Elliott still dropped deep to try and influence proceedings but struggled to produce the final pass alongside his fellow attackers. He was one of three players replaced at half time with England already two goals down.

Elliott’s lack of playing time last season means a small sample size of data, but he was much more involved during 2023-24 — earning the ‘supersub’ tag in the first half of that campaign and then playing a key role during Liverpool’s injury crisis in the early months of the new year.

What has never been in doubt about Elliott is his technical qualities and his ability to make things happen.

When looking at Liverpool’s open-play shot-ending sequences in 2023-24, he was top among all their players per 90 minutes. He may not be the player to take the shot or play the final pass, but the graphic below shows that he is frequently part of the build-up in an attack, whether at the final stage or further back in the sequence.

This graphic explains why Elliott was frequently the player Jurgen Klopp turned to when his side were trying to unlock a low block or find a way back into a game.

Slot did that on occasion last season too, but the score was often in title-bound Liverpool’s favour by the late stages of matches, so other substitutes were preferred.

You would expect speculation surrounding Elliott’s future to ramp up further once the Under-21 Euros are over. The bigger questions are: if he does decide he wants to leave Anfield, what clubs will make their interest serious, where will the midfielder then choose as the place he’d like to go, and what would he cost his new team?

Liverpool rate him very highly as a player, valuing his potential and versatility in attacking positions, and have been impressed by his ability to contribute in big moments. They understand his desire to play more regularly but have no intention of letting him go cheaply.

When they sold a 21-year-old Fabio Carvalho to Brentford last summer, it was in a deal that could be worth £27.5million ($37m) to Liverpool, with add-ons, and Elliott has a far more substantial body of work in the Premier League than his fellow Fulham academy graduate had then. For Elliott, given the prices being quoted for other players in similar positions this summer, the club are seeking a fee of more than £40m.

Elliott is a willing presser out of possession and has the required vision and touch in tight spaces. So if he were to move on, you would be confident he could play for an elite side who regularly come up against a lot of deep blocks, where he would be tasked with unlocking a defence. Put mobility and speed around him, and he can be that creative fulcrum. But what team, at what level, are prepared to do that?

Elliott celebrates with Andy Robertson after Liverpool won the title (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

But draw a Venn diagram showing the clubs who can afford Elliott (his wages, while far from outlandish, would also still be considerable), offer him regular game-time in a system that suits him and are at least competing for a place in Europe, and you can see how his options shrink.

There would be options in England. Aston Villa played a system under Unai Emery containing three No 10s. Brighton, who offer an environment which allows young players to flourish, would make sense. Wolves have been linked too, but would that signal a step down from the current champions — and could they afford him anyway?

Looking further up the domestic pecking order, could he improve Newcastle or Tottenham? Both teams are in next season’s Champions League, so will need a deeper pool of players to handle the minimum eight extra fixtures, but the chances are Elliott would be a squad player for them, too, albeit probably earning slightly more minutes than he’s been doing with Liverpool.

It would be very unfair to draw any conclusions from his latest performance and Elliott’s reputation is strong, but what remains unclear is if he can be the main orchestrator of a team’s attack over an entire season, which is what would be expected for the money he’d cost.

Having only turned 22 in April, he has plenty of time on his side. If he does leave, eventually he may prove himself to be a player Liverpool should have kept.

(Top photo: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)

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