England U21s hero Harvey Elliott shows why he might have to leave Liverpool | OneFootball

There were a few minutes left on the clock, with England’s finest level against high-calibre opponents in Europe, when Harvey Elliott advanced on goal. He took aim and, with clinical precision, turned match-winner. Not just in the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship, either: with a similar flair for late drama, Elliott condemned the eventual Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain to defeat in the Parc des Princes.

Perhaps it was sadly symbolic of his club season that even its finest moment counted for nothing. PSG eliminated Liverpool in the second leg. Elliott became a Premier League winner, but as a bit-part player. If he is to add the right kind of medal from the U21 Euros, and only Germany stand in his way, it will be as vice-captain, as England’s, and perhaps the tournament’s, top scorer, as talisman and a talent unleashed after spending much of the previous 10 months sat on various benches. After a mere 360 minutes of Premier League football last season, he has already played 385 in the European Championship.

Elliott reflects the peculiarities of Under-21 football. A fringe figure at Anfield because of the talents around him, he is arguably propelled to greater prominence in age-group football because peers who play more for their clubs are picked by Thomas Tuchel and denied to Lee Carsley. Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke are all eligible for the Under-21s (even Jude Bellingham is) and potential right-wingers. They have been promoted. Elliott has not been.

So, he can show the strength in depth that both England and Liverpool enjoy. He has also demonstrated a rare quality, two high-class goals against the Netherlands evidence of an ability to find space between the lines, to run with the ball and to finish with either foot. He may have suffered a little for his success, a knee tweaked in a sliding celebration of his first goal. England must hope it does not affect his presence in Saturday’s final.

Elliott fires England’s winning goal against the Netherlands (Reuters)

Elliott, too. He has been a player in search of a role, limited to brief outings for the club he supported all his life, perhaps facing the end of a personal dream. He only made two Premier League starts last season, both after the title was won, both in defeats. He should have begun against Southampton, three days after his heroics in Paris, when he again came on to change the game and when, perhaps, Arne Slot’s reluctance to rest his regulars meant they were drained when it came to the following week’s Carabao Cup final, when Elliott, in another cameo, got a late assist.

Slot’s explanation after Southampton was instructive. “If someone comes on for five minutes and scores a goal and it changes all your ideas about how you make your line-up, that would be a bit weird,” he said. His pecking order was set in stone. Slot’s other regular explanation for Elliott’s omission was to cite the players who kept him out: Mohamed Salah on the right wing, Dominik Szoboszlai as a No 10.

Since then, the competition has got fiercer. The best player in the league has committed to Liverpool for a further two years. The most expensive, should his add-ons be triggered, has arrived, and Florian Wirtz looks likely to line up as the No 10.

It was notable that Slot rarely seemed to consider Elliott an option to play deeper in midfield. Instead, he has Germany’s generational talent and one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players for competition. It could look like a losing battle.

Elliott featured only 18 times in the Premier League last season (PA Wire)

His problem may be more of physique than technique. As the Dutch can testify, Elliott can both caress and crash the ball. But he is not quick enough to be a Jurgen Klopp winger, to run in behind defences. Unlike Szoboszlai, he may not be robust enough to be a Slot midfielder. Liverpool were more open in those two league games in which he started, though it was scarcely all his fault.

And so his summer excellence feels timely. Slot is aware that some of his squad players may not settle for another campaign on the margins. Before the tournament, Elliott accepted that his career is at a crossroads. “I’m coming into an age now where I’m 22, I’m going to be 23 next season, and I don’t really want to be wasting years because it’s a short career, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I need to reflect. I need to see if I’m content in what I’m doing.”

England can be very content with his brilliance. As Elliott may approach the last game of his Under-21 career, he looks a potential player of the tournament. He has flourished at his level. He has 15 goals in 147 appearances for Liverpool, 13 in just 27 for England’s Under-21s. Only Eddie Nketiah has ever scored more, and Elliott’s brace against the Netherlands put him level with Alan Shearer.

Such tables can be dominated by players left in the junior ranks for a reason. With the notable exception of the record appearance-maker James Milner, the other players with the most caps for the Under-21s had much briefer senior careers. For Elliott right now, however, the benefits of being both starter and star are clear. And then he faces a decision if he opts for the same status at club level.