Liverpool attacker Harvey Elliott has admitted that he is frustrated at his lack of playing time under Arne Slot, but insisted that he has no plans to leave anytime soon.
The Reds beat Brentford 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League thanks to two goals from Darwin Nunez in second-half stoppage time, maintaining their advantage at the top of the division.
Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last weekend means the Merseysiders are six points ahead of the Gunners despite having played a game less, and it is difficult to see anyone stopping the league leaders.
Harvey Elliott came on from the substitutes bench and played important roles in both of Nunez's goals, and though he has not featured much for Slot this season, he told the Liverpool Echo that he will fight for his place, saying: "Absolutely [I want to stay]. Liverpool is my club, Liverpool is my team. I want to fight for my place, fight for my position in the team.
"I am going to do what it takes. Do it as much as I can. Help the team out when it's possible. It's down to me to put in the effort, the hard work, the desire, to make that achievement. I am not going to give up, I am going to keep fighting and who knows what might happen."
"It's been a little bit [frustrating]. At the same time, the team is winning games and the team is doing really well. It's just friendly conversations of 'is there anything I need to do to show you to get more game time? Is there anything I need to work on specifically?'"
Elliott is yet to start a competitive game for Slot in either the Premier League or Champions League this season despite regularly starting in pre-season.
© Imago
Why Harvey Elliott still has a future at Liverpool
One of the reasons why Elliott has not featured as often as the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai is that Slot gives his number 10 lots of responsibility off the ball.
Szoboszlai can often be seen making forward runs to open space for Mohamed Salah, and then tracking back to make sure the team's double pivot is not overloaded.
Elliott does not possess the Hungarian's immense physical qualities, with Curtis Jones the only other player in the squad trusted to start as the team's number 10.
However, Szoboszlai is sometimes awkward when receiving the ball between opposition lines against a set defence, while Elliott excels in small pockets of space.
The 21-year-old arguably helps to alleviate much of the creative burden on Salah, who has been increasingly targeted by opposition defenders.
Perhaps Elliott will become more of a regular in the XI if Slot is allowed to mould the team to his liking in the upcoming transfer markets, when he would be able to buy players to mitigate his the attacker's weaknesses and maximise his strengths.
Lewis Nolan
