Liverpool could end up paying Fulham a total of over £4m for Harvey Elliott, and will have to also give the West Londoners 20% of a potential future sell-on fee, too.
That was decided at a tribunal yesterday, which is the highest figure from a tribunal for a 16-year-old ever.
“Liverpool Football Club respects the outcome of the PFCC’s fair and thorough process in this matter,” a statement on the official website said.
“We would like to thank the panel for their time and diligence in reaching a decision.
“We now look forward to welcoming Harvey back from his loan spell with Blackburn Rovers in the summer and helping him continue to build towards a long and successful career at Anfield.”
In truth though, it’s still an absolute bargain. Elliott, still 17, is already worth £20m just for what he’s done in the Championship this season – and his potential for greatness means he’s an unsellable asset.
For Blackburn while on loan, Elliott has scored four goals and registered eight assists to date, and his overall performances have left Ewood Park staff wowed.
His vision belies his age, as does his confidence and his wand of a left foot.
The way he dribbles with a ball is frightening, but it’s his ability to thread a through-ball that most impresses us.
He’ll be back in the summer and a genuine option for minutes in the first-team next season, we reckon.
It’s not a bargain at all. We’ve been ripped off. If a club buys a youth player, no matter how highly they’re rated at that age, it’s still a gamble. This decision sounds as though his progress in the two years since he left Fulham has been taken into consideration, and that’s not right. His progress has been mainly down to his own work and LFC’s coaching, not Fulham’s. Giving them £4m AND 20% of any furure transfer is way over the top. This kind of decision needs to be made within weeks of a player moving cubs, not YEARS. Too many subsequent factors inevitably influence the judgement.
Don’t be sly. They found him, we pay £4m for one of the best talents in the world. It;’s sound.