Rovers have marginally beaten the 5pm domestic deadline to further add to their squad, with the loan signing of highly rated forward, Harvey Elliott.
The 17-year old winger, who will wear the #16 shirt during his season-long loan from Premier League Champions, Liverpool, arrives at Ewood Park in search of the first-team football that will aid his development as a footballer and help build on the natural talent that possessed Liverpool to snap him up from Fulham in 2019, to begin with. Although Liverpool didn’t initially intend to let the teenager depart Anfield, the prospect of one of their most talented youngsters playing consistently, at such a high level appeared too good for Liverpool Sporting Director Michael Edwards and first-team boss Jürgen Klopp to turn down. A further supporting factor to the deal is the close relationship that Klopp and Rovers boss Tony Mowbray have formed since the latter’s days at Coventry City, when Mowbray took Ryan Kent on loan from the now-Champions. Since then, the pair have grown close, with Rovers having played numerous friendlies against Liverpool, including one post-lockdown – which Elliott played in – as the Anfield side emerged, 6-0 victors on the day.
After breaking through the Fulham youth ranks, Elliott made his first-team debut for the Cottagers as a 15-year old in their 3-1 win away at Millwall in the 2018-19 Carabao Cup. By making his late cameo appearance as a substitute, Elliott subsequently broke Fulham’s youngest-ever first-team player record and became the youngest-ever player to play an EFL Cup game, at 15 years and 174 days. After returning to the youth team to continue his development, Elliott was called up to already-relegated Fulham’s first-team for his senior league debut prior to the penultimate game of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite already being consigned to the Championship, Fulham boss Scott Parker decided to utilise Elliott off the bench in the 88th minute to give him a run out, but doing so, Elliott cemented himself into the record books as the youngest-ever Premier League player, at 16 years and 30 days.
Following Fulham’s relegation back to the Championship at the end of the 2018-19 season, Elliott received interest from many of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but it was Klopp’s Liverpool that proved the most attractive option for the then-16-year old. After joining for an undisclosed fee, Elliott after putting pen-to-paper on youth contract, spent pre-season during the summer of 2019, with the first-team, before becoming a fixture within Liverpool’s Premier League 2 side throughout 2019-20. It only took two months for the 16-year old to make his competitive debut for his new club, as he played the full 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup Third Round, as a youthful Liverpool side had to rely on the experience of James Milner, who scored and assisted, and the frailties of opponents MK Dons who were defeated 2-0, in order to advance to the next round. Much like in his Fulham days, however, Elliott’s appearance broke a Liverpool record, as he became the youngest-ever player to start a match for the side. Despite not returning a goal or an assist, his impressive performance both, on and off the ball against the Dons convinced Klopp to keep Elliott in the side for the visit of Arsenal to Anfield, in the Fourth Round of the cup – with Elliott becoming the youngest player to start at Anfield – as Liverpool won on penalties, 5-4, following a thrilling five-all draw. Elliott was to play in the controversial Quarter-Finals of the cup, as well, as Liverpool fielded a full team of youth players to face Aston Villa, whilst the first-team were in Qatar for the Club World Cup. Despite the youngsters falling to a 5-0 defeat on the night, a unanimous conclusion from viewers and pundits alike saw Elliott highlighted as the young Liverpool team’s only shining light. Elliott would also go on to play for the Reds in the 2019-20 FA Cup, against local rivals Everton in the Third Round and in the original fixture and replay against League One’s Shrewsbury Town, before being left out of the remaining cup ties.
Despite his exploits for Liverpool’s first-team in their varying cup competitions, Elliott has had a brief taste of Premier League action from the top-end of the table, having made his debut for the Reds in the league as a final substitution in a 2-0 win over Sheffield United, with the new Rovers loanee replacing Mohamed Salah during the final stages of the game. The teen’s second Premier League appearance came in a very similar circumstance, as he was brought on for x during the closing moments of the Red’s 4-0 win over Crystal Palace. Despite understandably not being able to rack up a plethora of minutes for the Premier League Champions, his stints within such a close-knit and confident squad will undoubtedly prove invaluable for Elliott in the long-run. Although he missed out on a Premier League medal by three appearances, Elliott does have a UEFA Super Cup medal to his name, as he was part of the 23-man squad that the 2019 Champions League winners faced as they beat the 2019 Europa League winners, Chelsea, on penalties. After turning 17 in April 2020, the lifelong Liverpool supporter was given his first senior contract by the Reds in June, which is set to expire in 2023. By investing this time in the youngster, Liverpool clearly value Elliott as someone who can help increase the quality within their squad as he grows and understands the various philosophies within the game. Additionally, his loan move to Rovers shows the level of trust between the clubs and their staff, given how highly rated Elliott is within both, the Liverpool camp and the wider footballing world.
Whilst his club career is still in its infancy, Elliott’s international career is well and truly up and running, with the Liverpool man having played and been apart of England squads ranging from the under-15 to under-19 category. Having been incredibly prolific for the under-15s age group since making his debut in 2018, netting five goals in the four games he played, Elliott was soon fast-tracked to the under-17 – despite making one appearance for the under-16s in a 2018 friendly victory against Scotland. It was in the under-17s age group where Elliott made his presence more known as he showed his prolific nature, by notching twice in his first six games, despite only playing a full 90 minutes, once. Elliott also helped England qualify for the 2019 under-17s Euros finals, but despite aiding towards qualification however, Elliott was not selected for the final squad, which were knocked out of the group stages. The youngster’s value was soon shown in mini-tournament titled the Syrenka Cup in September 2019, as he played two out of the three games, including the final, as England went on to life the title, following a penalty shootout victory over Poland, following a 2-2 draw in a game where Elliott opened the scoring after winning and then converting a penalty. His impressive performances both in Liverpool and England’s youth categories soon saw him called up to England’s under-19s squad, where they were due to play two friendlies against Scotland on the 8th and 11th of October, which were then subsequently abandoned in the midst of the first game, due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Scottish camp, which scuppered Elliott’s chances of having an official under-19s debut logged into the history books.
As Elliott now moves into the first loan move of his career, he will no doubt be wanting to kick on and impress both, the Rovers staff and fans as well as the hierarchy at Liverpool, who will decide whether his future, after the 2020-21 season, lies in another loan spell, or as a backup for the first-team. From a Rovers fan’s perspective, we now get to enjoy a full season of one of the country’s most sought after talents. Whilst it will surely no doubt take only a short while for Elliott to settle into Rovers’ relatively young squad, the Liverpool loanee holds a big responsibility on his shoulder to develop, both as a player and as a man and use the experience around him, as well as his natural talent to help Rovers push towards the upper echelons of the Championship.
