Sheffield United might fancy signing Liverpool sensation Harvey Elliott, but if Jurgen Klopp’s comments are anything to go by, the Blades don’t have a chance.
Elliott impressed for the Reds last night as they drew 1-1 with Athletico Bilbao in a pre-season friendly at Anfield. The youngster – who was superb for Blackburn Rovers last season – even went close to scoring when he rattled the bar.
The Blades have been linked with a move for Elliott this summer. Slavisa Jokanovic is trying to improve the squad, with loans his best avenue for adding quality to the ranks.
But after Elliott’s performance last night, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp appeared to indicate that the midfield prodigy will be going nowhere.
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Klopp praises Harvey Elliott
The Liverpool manager has had faith in Elliott for some time. But now he’s back working with the first-team at Anfield, the youngster is eager to impress.
And he did against Bilbao, with Klopp calling Elliott his ‘new midfielder’.
“We have new signings, we brought three players we couldn’t use last year for most of the season, we have back in the team. We have obviously a new midfielder in our squad with Harvey Elliott,” Klopp commented.
“We wanted to have him more involved. And I think he made a big step in this pre-season. If Harvey stays fit then the football world can be really excited about that. I liked his performance today, I liked his performance and attitude during the pre-season. So, good for us, good for him.”
Sheffield United to move on?
Most Blades would agree that Harvey Elliott is the ideal signing. But Klopp has definitely suggested a first-team role this season with his comments here.
Of course, the window is still open and you never know in football. But the Blades need to act quickly really to improve the squad, and can’t wait around for Klopp to make his mind up late on.
The only hope was that Klopp did also mention new signings might still happen at Liverpool. If that is a midfield player, then Elliott might be available. However, we won’t know that for some time yet.
For now, the smart thing would be for United to move on and at least identify other targets in that position.
