Jurgen Klopp has only handed Harvey Elliott one Premier League game all season for Liverpool but there may be a Xherdan Shaqiri shaped hole to fill.
Liverpool might not need to sign a replacement for Xherdan Shaqiri this summer with John Aldridge suggesting that Harvey Elliott should be promoted to Jurgen Klopp’s first-team on a full-time basis.
Not only does Elliott look like a man far older than his 17 years, he plays like one too.
The youngest footballer in Premier League history was not expected to feature all that much during his debut season at Anfield and, while he has hardly been a regular, plenty of opportunities have come his way.
And Elliott has seized every opportunity afforded to him in style, looking a cut above even against Premier League opposition like Arsenal and Everton in cup competitions. Put simply, the 17-year-old already boasts the kind of maturity, end product and technique that most players his age could only dream of.
And with Shaqiri set to be sold after another season warming the bench, Aldridge believes that Liverpool could do worse than to task a talented teenager with taking the place of a former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan star with 82 international caps on his CV.
“Then there is Harvey Elliott who is finding his feet,” Aldridge, who tips fellow teenager Curtis Jones for a bigger role going forwards too, tells The Echo.
“He is a little bit away from the finished product but with Xherdan Shaqiri’s future in the air, could he come in do that job? Possibly.”
According to the Liverpool Echo, Liverpool are set to listen to offers of around £25 million for Shaqiri and clubs all over Europe would surely jump at the chance to sign a player with his track record, even after 18 months of inactivity at Anfield.
Though if Shaqiri is growing frustrated with life on the sidelines, Elliott would surely relish the opportunity to sit on Liverpool’s bench every weekend.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
