Hutton issues emphatic Harvey Elliott claim after journalist's Liverpool reveal
Alan Hutton has claimed Harvey Elliott needs industrious midfielders around him at Liverpool.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs and Aston Villa defender said Reds boss Jurgen Klopp cannot rely on Elliott "to be an aggressive player" off the ball.
Elliott has been a regular starter for Liverpool this season amid injuries to Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.
Liverpool's indifferent start to the campaign was compounded by a 4-1 loss at Napoli last Wednesday (7 September).
James Milner, Fabinho and Elliott started at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium.
As revealed by The Athletic‘s James Pearce (8 September), Thiago made more tackles in his 28-minute cameo than the starting midfield three and full-backs combined.
When asked by Football Insider if Elliott was good enough defensively to play on the right-hand side of Liverpool's midfield, Hutton said: "That is not the player that he is.
"If you are playing three in midfield he is the attacking option.
"You need players in and around him whether that be Henderson or Fabinho. They are workhorses. They win tackles, win duels and allow a player like Elliott to play.
"I don't think you can rely on someone like Elliott to be an aggressive player. The stats tell you that.
"Klopp needs to get players in and around Elliott that can help him. It is about getting the balance right. It is difficult to get that balance right given the amount of injuries they have though."