Harvey Elliott faces uncomfortable truth after Liverpool transfer update

The match officially kick-started Andoni Iraola's era with the Reds, with the new boss making four substitutions. Elliott, though, was not one of them. To add insult to injury, the 23-year-old wasn't even on the bench as he was left out of the matchday squad.

It's a situation that the Englishman unfortunately grew accustomed to during his nightmare loan spell at Aston Villa last season. Villa boss Unai Emery omitted Elliott from a Premier League matchday squad 24 times (excluding illness) in a campaign where he played a meagre 284 minutes across all competitions.

A damning indictment of Elliott's current standing at Liverpool is the fact that Lewis Koumas was preferred to him on the bench. The 20-year-old ended up making his Premier League debut for the Reds on Sunday, after coming on for Ryan Gravenberch in the 78th minute.

Elliott's predicament only seems to be worsening with Liverpool remaining in the hunt for Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh. The Seagulls have turned down bids, with the highest believed to be in the region of £60million, and value the Gambian at £70m.

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Elliott's versatility across midfield and on the right wing does give him multiple options to impress, but it hasn't so far resulted in earning time on the pitch. The Reds are a man short in the engine room after Curtis Jones' sale to Inter Milan, and even with the 25-year-old's exit, it's Trey Nyoni - not Elliott - that is regarded as the player to step into the void.

Without Minteh, Iraola prefers Rio Ngumoha, 17, on the right flank as the England ace started there on Sunday. Should the Gambian international clinch a move to Anfield, it's hard to see where Elliott can fit into the matchday squad - something he's already struggling to be included in.

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