Jurgen Klopp has discussed Harvey Elliott’s role at Liverpool this season with the midfielder pushing for regular first-team football.
Elliott has started just once in the Premier League so far this season, but has proven an influential option from the bench.
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The 20-year-old scored a last-minute winner at Crystal Palace last weekend after coming off the bench, and Klopp was asked whether the England u-21 international’s cameos have provided him with a selection headache.
“No, no headache. For me, Harvey is what we really forget from time to time, he is still super-young and has had an incredible amount of games already – and top games,” Klopp said at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Union Saint-Gilloise in the Europa League.
“We can go back, before the bad injury Harvey in that period was the best player we had, he had the best performances definitely. Then he got badly injured, came back and took a while before he got up to speed again. What he showed in the last game and what he showed in a lot of moments when we bring him [in], what he showed for the U21s with England, that’s all what Harvey Elliott can be.
“With his skillset, he will be in the future super-influential in a team because he can connect things, he has the ability to do that. He has the overview, the technique, the dynamic. He has it. Did he bring it always on the pitch when he played? No, but that’s normal. I wouldn’t blame anybody for that, least of all him.
“I am really happy he could show it because a player with his ability needs to have finishes as well. He can shoot and he can play the last pass and all these kinds of things. It was a really good sign again of how good this boy can be and, of course, we want to use that.”
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