James McAtee and Tino Livramento react to Harvey Elliott’s triumphant England message
Harvey Elliott proved to be England’s man of the moment as they secured the Under-21 European Championship title.
Arne Slot has been criticised for Elliott’s lack of minutes last season after he featured just 18 times in Liverpool’s title-winning Premier League campaign, and only made two starts right at the tail-end of it.
Elliott has therefore been linked with a plethora of clubs in England and aboard over a possible summer transfer, but Liverpool will demand over £40million for the midfielder as a move to Brighton gathers pace.
Liverpool broke their transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen who will play in Elliott’s preferred attacking midfield position, casting further doubt over the 22-year-old’s game-time at Anfield.
Elliott issues new message after England success – ‘Another one’
Although his future increasingly looks set to lie away from Liverpool, Elliott’s recent focus has been firmly on England‘s fortunes in the Under-21 Euros as Lee Carsley‘s side attempted to win back-to-back titles.
Elliott and Charlie Cresswell have served as vice-captains whenever England skipper James McAtee has been absent, and the Liverpool midfielder rose to the occasion in Saturday’s decider against Germany.
The Young Lions led inside five minutes thanks to Elliott’s composed finish from just inside the box, and after Germany had pegged England back to 2-2, Jonathan Rowe scored the winner early in extra time.
After the full-time whistle, the recently-crowned player of the tournament Elliott posted on Instagram (29 June) with the caption of: “Another one! Two for Two. This group of lads”, and a ‘love heart’ emoji.
Elliott’s England team-mates were quick to join in on the celebrations, with Tino Livramento saying; “Different”, and exit-linked Manchester City star McAtee calling his fellow midfielder; “The best”.
England exploits to raise Elliott’s price tag at Liverpool
Football Insider Verdict
With Elliott‘s goal against Germany in the final being the fifth he’d scored from midfield throughout the Under-21 Euros, his award as player of the tournament was certainly justified in the eyes of UEFA.
A total of 822 minutes in all competitions for Liverpool last season doesn’t match the level of Elliott’s talent, and it’s no surprise to see many Premier League clubs already circling the midfielder this summer.
Liverpool may have put paid to his chances of more game-time with the £100m signing of Wirtz, but Elliott’s displays for England Under-21s will certainly give Slot confidence that Liverpool can now demand at least half that amount.