The importance of Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott has been proven in a big way over the last two games.
Elliott left the Reds to join Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan in the Championship last summer.
And although he’s had a brilliant campaign in the second tier, the Liverpool gem has been benched for the last two games.
Tony Mowbray refused to start the 17-year-old in a 2-1 defeat by Preston North End last weekend and then again in last night’s loss to Barnsley by the same scoreline.
Elliott came on after 76 minutes last night and wound up providing an assist for Adam Armstrong, but it proved a mere consolation.
Liverpool have one of the most exciting teenagers in England on their books and that’s evident by the fact that Rovers’s form has declined since Mowbray started benching him.
And suffice to say that some fans of the Ewood Park club are livid with their manager’s decision last night. Here’s what they’re saying:
Rovers have now slipped 10 points adrift in the race for a top-six finish and you have to wonder how different the table could read had Mowbray continued starting Elliott.
Then again, this is an experienced manager and if he feels that the teenager – who turns 18 in April – needs a stint out of the team then the decision must be respected.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
