Unai Emery drops Harvey Elliott verdict as he scores first Aston Villa goal after Liverpool transfer, ‘it’s good…’

Harvey Elliott opened his Aston Villa account during the penalty shootout loss against Brentford in the Carabao Cup.

The 22-year-old arrived at Villa Park on deadline day in a season-long loan move, which will become permanent for £35 million at the end of the campaign.

Elliott penned an emotional farewell message to the Liverpool supporters following the completion of the transfer as he admitted his need to leave Anfield in search of regular first-team football.

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was keen to bring the midfielder to Germany with RB Leipzig, but as TBR Football exclusively reported, Aston Villa sold Elliott on their project.

And now the new number nine is off the mark for the Villans as Unai Emery reflects on his new signing’s immediate impact in the West Midlands.

Unai Emery is happy with Harvey Elliott at Aston Villa

In his post-match interview, Emery admitted that he was pleased with Elliott’s performance despite the defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium.

“Yes, it’s good because we scored one goal and Harvey Elliot (has) his qualities. He shot with us and he scored one goal.”

Emery added: “I think we’re getting better, of course. Still, there’s work to do, and we are going to practice after tomorrow, preparing for the game on Sunday.

“We have to work hard like we’ve been doing. But now, with the newest tutor we have, with the new project we joined two weeks ago, we have to improve. We have to keep the same progression we’ve been showing.”

Morgan Rogers praised the signing of Elliott alongside fellow deadline day signing Jadon Sancho as the Aston Villa talisman revealed his excitement about playing with the new duo this season.

Furthermore, Mohamed Salah expects Elliott to thrive at Villa Park after his former teammate was given a reduced role at Anfield, despite establishing himself as a key member of the squad under Klopp.

While Elliott made his debut in a cameo during the 0-0 draw against Everton, he has sent a clear message to Emery that he is ready to start games now, as Villa are still waiting for their first win of the 2025/26 campaign.

Indeed, there is no immediate threat to Emery’s position at Villa Park, but the Spaniard will need to kickstart his season in the upcoming clashes against Sunderland and Bologna, with Aston Villa currently the favourites for the Europa League.

Harvey Elliott can be an important player for Aston Villa

It is clear that something is not working at Aston Villa; the early Carabao Cup exit follows four Premier League matches without a win for Emery.

Remarkably, Elliott scored the Villans’ first goal of the season with stars such as Ollie Watkins and Rogers failing to replicate their usual goalscoring threat.

While the England Under-21 international has hardly proven himself the most prolific in front of goal, he registered four goals and 14 assists across all competitions during the 2023/24 season when he was a regular starter at Anfield.

Emery must seek creative solutions to break his side’s goalscoring drought in the Premier League. And Elliott could add the extra dimension to the Villa attack, which sees the goals return to a forward line that is desperately struggling.

Click here to read article