Harvey Elliott's Liverpool career is over after Marca reveal - verdict

Harvey Elliott is surely on track to leave Liverpool permanently as he struggles for form and fitness at Valencia this season.

Elliott returned to Liverpool in the summer after a tough loan spell at Aston Villa last season.

He rarely featured under Unai Emery as the Villans were reluctant to offer Elliott enough game time to trigger his £35million obligation-to-buy clause.

Andoni Iraola was keen to give him the chance to impress in pre-season, but the 23-year-old was ultimately loaned out to Valencia on Deadline Day.

Elliott has failed to impress so far and is now being criticised by the Spanish media for appearing overweight and unfit to make a real impact in La Liga.

His morale is clearly low after a tough 12 months, and a permanent Liverpool exit is surely on the horizon as he continues to struggle.

Valencia insiders have slammed Harvey Elliott for his fitness issues

Elliott only featured nine times for Villa last season, with just four Premier League appearances for his loan club as he was last handed minutes in March.

Iraola gave him minutes in five Liverpool friendlies over the summer, and so he should have been fit and raring to go upon arrival at the Mestalla.

The 23-year-old has made just three appearances from the bench for Valencia so far, and was an unused substitute in their only win of the campaign against Deportivo Alaves last week.

Marca have now reported that Elliott is struggling in Spain because he "arrived out of shape" at the start of the month despite having a full pre-season at Liverpool.

Those inside the club believe that he has to improve his physical condition over the international break, which is being treated as a second pre-season, or he could face more time out of the team if not.

New manager Javier Aguirre is unlikely to be impressed by his current level of fitness as he takes charge of the club following Carlos Corberan's departure.

Elliott is already on the back foot out in Spain, and the likelihood of him returning to Liverpool to be a regular in Iraola's squad seems to fall with each passing week that he struggles.

Elliott's contract situation at Liverpool examined

Unless he is recalled in January, Elliott will end up back at Liverpool next summer regardless of what happens, as Valencia do not have an option or obligation to buy him at the end of the loan.

He will be back on Merseyside with just one year left on his Reds contract, which is set to expire in June 2028.

Liverpool will surely be keen to let him go permanently if he does not prove his quality at Valencia, with next summer representing their last chance to cash in before he can potentially leave for free.