Ian Wright has implored Jurgen Klopp to give more frequent starts to one Liverpool youngster who already looks ‘very controlled in what he’s doing’.
Despite starting all five of the Reds’ Europa League group games so far this term, Harvey Elliott’s only Premier League start came in the 2-2 draw at Brighton in October, when he was substituted at half-time (Transermarkt).
However, the 20-year-old was his team’s match-winning hero on Saturday, scoring the decisive stoppage time goal as LFC came from behind to triumph 2-1 at Crystal Palace and go top of the table.
Speaking on The Kelly & Wrighty Show, the former Arsenal striker called for the England under-21 star to be given a run of starts in Liverpool’s first team off the back of his heroics at Selhurst Park.
Wright said of Elliott: “You just want to see him now get a run of games because he looks like the player that controls games. He gets on it and he’s very controlled in what he’s doing.
“He’s added goals to his game now. Now you just want to see consistent performances, for him to be playing regularly so he can be that main player in that midfield, because I don’t think that anybody’s really nailed anything down.”
Having started just under half of Liverpool’s Premier League games last season (featuring in 32 altogether), Elliott would’ve been hoping for more than just a solitary start by this stage of the current campaign.
The addition of four new midfielders over the summer has obviously heightened competition in that area of the pitch, while Mo Salah is irreplaceable on the right-hand side of attack, so the 20-year-old has had to be content with the role of impact substitute in the top flight.
However, it wasn’t just his goal at Selhurst Park with which he stood out – as per Sofascore, he completed all 24 of his passes after coming on for Darwin Nunez in the 76th minute, testifying to Wright’s praise about him being ‘very controlled’ in his use of the ball.
Elliott has shown an ability to make things happen even aside from his goalscoring – as per FBref, he boasts the second-best rate for successful take-ons at Liverpool (61.5%) when excluding players who’ve attempted fewer than five dribbles, and has put in the second-most crosses (29) of anyone in the squad when full-backs are excluded.
Whether Klopp will throw him into the starting XI against Manchester United and Arsenal is unclear, but displays like the one against Palace make a compelling case for the English youngster to be included more regularly in the Reds’ Premier League line-ups.