Liverpool have reportedly slapped a £40m price tag on the head of attacker Harvey Elliott, who is on the radar of Borussia Dortmund and Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 21-year-old started Saturday's 4-0 FA Cup third-round win over Accrington Stanley, but he has often been overlooked for a place in Arne Slot's first XI this season.
The visit of the League Two side saw Elliott start a competitive game for just the second time this season, after playing the full 90 minutes in December's EFL Cup quarter-final win over Southampton.
A foot fracture ruled the former Fulham starlet out for two months earlier this season, restricting him to just 10 appearances in all tournaments, although Slot has been loath to trust him in the Premier League.
Elliott has racked up just 43 minutes from seven top-flight appearances in the current campaign, and even though his contract runs until 2027, his lack of game time has led to talk of a January exit.
Liverpool to demand £40m for Elliott?
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Both Dortmund and Brighton are said to have been alerted to Elliott's situation, but according to The Sun, Liverpool will demand at least £35m and potentially up to £40m to sell him this month.
Such a fee would represent a staggering profit on the £1.4m that Liverpool paid Fulham to bring Elliott to Merseyside in 2019, since when he has contributed 11 goals and 14 assists from 129 matches across all competitions.
The 21-year-old has demonstrated his versatility during his five-and-a-half years at Anfield, featuring as both a number 10 and right-sided attacker, but competition for both roles at Anfield is intense.
Mohamed Salah is the outright first-choice on the right-hand side, while Federico Chiesa put his fitness woes behind him with a stunning first goal for the club in the clash with Accrington.
Meanwhile, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai are competing for starts in the most advanced midfield position over Elliott, who last extended his contract back in the summer of 2022.
What has Slot said about Elliott's situation?
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Asked about Elliott's lack of playing time before the win over Accrington, Slot suggested that the winger was still rediscovering his best form after his lengthy layoff earlier in the season, saying: "He's a talented player, he's been with us for so long.
"In recent weeks, he comes in quite a lot and gets some minutes, but like it is for him and all the others, he is in competition with the other players. He's been unlucky with injury and was out for a long time.
"What I've seen until now, with almost all of our players that have been out for quite a while, is that in this league, it is not so easy to come back and be at your best immediately. I see this with all of our players.
"That is the balance we have to find, to give playing time to get them back to their best level but still to be able to win every game. Our margins are constantly small, but if you're 5-0 up, you can give players half an hour or a half, but that is not the way we have been winning games."
Elliott made a positive impression in Saturday's success, though, while 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha also caught the eye with an energetic performance on his senior Reds debut.
Ben Knapton
