Liverpool set £40 million asking price for fan favourite who could be set for shock exit
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Brighton and Borussia Dortmund are leading the race to sign out of favour Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott.
The 21-year-old flourished under Jurgen Klopp last term and enjoyed his most productive season in a Reds’ shirt since his move from Fulham six years ago.
A serious ankle injury has prevented him from making an impact under Klopp’s successor Arne Slot but he has been sparingly since his return to fitness in November.
Indeed, the England Under-21 international has made just nine appearances in all competitions this term and hasn’t started a Premier League game.
According to The Sun, Liverpool would ask for a fee of between £35million and £40m for a player who is unlikely to be short of admirers.
Speaking about Elliott in November, Slot said: ‘We always want all of our players available and it was a blow for him and for us that he got injured for such a long time.
‘I think he's been out for three months now. Now we also have to give him time to come back to his normal level.
‘I recently spoke about Ibou Konate who was out from playing football for maybe two, three or four months, because he didn't play at the end of the season and didn't play at the Euros.
‘As a result of that his first game against Man United in pre-season wasn't his best.
‘That is something which is completely normal for a football player and this is something we have to take into consideration with Harvey as well.
‘Yes, he's training with us again, but that's different from being on the top of your game immediately again. We have to give him time for this as well.
‘But I'm very fortunate that he's back, especially with the amount of games that are coming up in the coming two, three or four months.’
Slot, meanwhile, believes Federico Chiesa has to meet the challenge posed by the forwards currently ahead of him and show his worth to the side in the second half of the season.
The Italian is set for only his fifth appearance of the campaign, having started just once and not played in the Premier League since September, in the FA Cup third round tie at home to Accrington.
Chiesa, who has been on the bench for five of the last seven games, has struggled from not having a pre-season with Juventus ahead of his £10million move to Anfield in late August.
‘It’s not only been difficult for him in terms of match fitness, it’s also that he has to compete with the likes of Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah,’ said Slot.
‘Everybody here knows the numbers Mo Salah brings in. There’s not many times a reason to take him out during a game or before a game.
‘It’s not only about Federico when we are talking about him being limited in his playing time. It’s also about the others.
‘But in terms of Federico it definitely has to do with the way he came in, the rest were already training a lot and we had to bring him up in terms of match fitness.
‘It’s a combination of reasons why he didn’t play that much yet but let’s wait and see in the upcoming weeks and months if he’s able to help us because the second half of the season is even more important than the first.’
