Harvey Elliott has admitted he needed to be “selfish” in choosing to leave Liverpool, opening up about the difficult decision behind his summer exit.
The 22-year-old completed a loan move to Aston Villa on deadline day, with the deal set to become permanent for £35m once he makes 10 appearances under Unai Emery this season (The Athletic).
Elliott, who posted an emotional farewell message to Reds supporters a fortnight ago, has now revealed that the main driving force behind the move was his desire for regular first-team football — something he struggled to secure under new boss Arne Slot.
Elliott on his ‘selfish’ decision
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, the England under-21 international admitted:
“It was very difficult. First of all the decision to leave and then on top of that to find the best club.
There were a few difficult decisions I had to make. I had to sit down and speak to the team and go into a lot of detail, but it was the decision that was made and the decision was to come here.”
Despite the pain of leaving Anfield, Elliott was keen to stress how much he cherished his time at the club.
“I loved every minute of it; every second, every day. I wouldn’t change it to be honest. I learned so much from being there and experienced many things, but I think the most important thing for me when I was making the decision was to be playing first-team football.”
