Harvey Elliott has been making a big impact for Liverpool in pre-season, and the young midfielder is hoping it helps him prove he “should be starting” in 2022/23.
Few players came into pre-season with the verve and vibrancy of Elliott, and he has taken that through to the Reds’ warmup friendlies so far.
Largely deployed on the right flank, rather than the midfield role he began last term in, the 19-year-old has been one of Liverpool’s main creative outlets.
But there is a sense that, as it stands, he remains behind the likes of Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita in the midfield pecking order, along with, of course, Mohamed Salah in attack.
However, there are a couple of spots still up for grabs in Jurgen Klopp‘s first-choice lineup, and Elliott is looking to use pre-season as a springboard for a starting berth.
“Hopefully I can go out and prove again why I could hopefully be starting and should be starting in this team,” he told LFCTV after the 1-0 loss to Salzburg.
“But if you look at the team, we just keep bringing in more and more unbelievable talents.
“It’s going to be hard, but I’m here if I’m needed.
“I’m always ready and I’m always willing to give 100 percent to myself, for the team, for the badge, for the fans.
“Because at the end of the day, it’s the club that I love and the club that I want to play for.
“Whenever I’m given the chance I just want to go out and prove to everyone that I’m capable of playing for this team.”
This time last year, Elliott was on course for a shock impact at the beginning of the campaign proper, benefiting from injuries elsewhere to start against Burnley, Chelsea and Leeds in the Premier League.
A fracture-dislocation in his ankle against the latter derailed his momentum, however, and has effectively put him back to square one this summer.
“[I want] just to go out and show again who I am really,” Elliott continued.
“Obviously last season came with a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of challenges for myself.
“But I think if anything it’s helped towards this season, it’s been there for me to go and show for myself and show to the fans, to the world, that I can get into the team.
“That’s my main focus, just to make sure I work hard, make sure I improve in the minutes I get and sort of do it for myself really.
“[I need to] go out and learn, take these situations and this pre-season into my path and use it as a learning curve for myself.
“I’m feeling great, I’m feeling 100 percent now. This pre-season has been great for me, from start to finish.
“It’s been intense, which is what I needed, and the minutes have been great in terms of going out and playing, being able to showcase my ability and different situations to come with it.
“It’s a lot of learning this season, and more and more as the season goes on, I’m going to be learning different types of positions in different ways.
“So I’m looking forward to the season.”
