As Europe’s elite scour the globe to convince the 'next big thing' to join their football club, Jürgen Klopp and his elite coaching staff will holiday well knowing they possess one of world football’s brightest talents.
Players like Harvey Elliott are few and far between in the modern game and to be able to attract one of the most sought-after talents in world football, beating the likes of PSG and Real Madrid to his signature, pays credit to the growth of the club over the past five years under the stewardship of the LMA Manager of the Year, Jürgen Klopp.
Gone are the days of Liverpool Football Club being the nearly men of English football; a club who held their past in higher regard than their future.
Jürgen Klopp has steadied the ship and is steering it to places this generation of Liverpool fans have never seen before and what young budding footballer wouldn’t want to be onboard for the ride?
Recapping 2019/20: Showing class beyond his years
Harvey Elliott, despite only being 17 years old, has featured in seven games for the senior team since his arrival in July of last year and one of his appearances saw the Chertsey-born winger become the youngest player to ever start a competitive game for the Reds in the clubs’ 2-0 victory over MK Dons.
Elliot is no stranger to breaking such records in his short professional career, having previously become the youngest player to play in the EFL Cup at just 15 years and 174 days old while at Fulham under Slavisa Jokanovic.
Should all things go to plan, for just £7million, it could well be the coup of the century.
Despite being such a young and inexperienced player at senior level, Elliott possesses qualities that suggest he has plied his trade at the top level of English football for years.
In the short time we’ve been able to watch him on the grand stage, the wingers footballing IQ and his spatial awareness is simply put, superb. He oozes confidence on the football pitch and is able to pull-off skills some pros could only dream of producing. Every player has their flaws and Elliott is no exception but if the club get it right, just as they did with Trent Alexander-Arnold, they have 'a little diamond' on their hands.
The only cause for concern may be the ex-Fulham man’s height. Standing at 5 foot 7 inches tall, the potential to be bullied in one of world football’s toughest league is a real possibility.
Many footballers been and gone have stood in Elliott’s shoes with the same problem and have managed to counteract it with their excellent footballing ability. The one player that springs to mind is David Silva, who stands at just one inch taller than Elliott.
The Spaniard has waved his wand of a left foot over the Premier League for the past decade and leaves Manchester City as one of the greatest midfielders to have ever graced English football.
By no means am I comparing David Silva’s footballing prowess to that of a 17-year-old player but the two have encountered the same problem as one another and if Elliott can learn anything from the Spaniard, it should be that no matter your so-called ‘flaws’, if you apply yourself and play like the kid on the playground, you can leave the beautiful game with legendary status.
For the under 23 side last season, Elliott produced solid numbers considering it was his first season at a new club. In 20 appearances, the winger was directly involved in 13 goals (4 goals and 9 assists).
2020/21 prospects: Output could improve as journey to first-team continues
Going into the new campaign, no doubt the Englishman will be wanting to translate that form into senior football when given the chance. At this moment in time, he is still very much a deputy to two of world football’s greatest wide men in Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
Last season, the pair contributed to 43.5% of the total goals scored in the league and set the standard for the likes of Elliott, Curtis Jones and Takumi Minamino, all of whom will be wanting to impress as the Reds look to defend their league title next term.
With Elliott bagging just four goals in youth football last season, if he wishes to become a first-team regular in the not too distant future, he must at least quadruple that output to match the goal record of Mane and Salah.
Klopp and his coaching staff have spent 13 months moulding Elliott into a Liverpool player and current signs are extremely promising. They have a player who is eager to learn and despite the words of praise from his peers, the young man seems extremely grounded and knows what he must do to have his name etched into the history books of the club he has followed since birth.
Here's to hoping we see a Liverpool line-up that features Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ki-Jana Hoever, Sepp van den Berg, Neco Williams, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Rhian Brewster. The Class of '22 has a nice sound to it...