Arne Slot can fire Liverpool playmaker bettered only by Kevin De Bruyne to next level after snub

Harvey Elliott could well be the most experienced player in the Liverpool squad when new head coach Arne Slot takes charge of training for the first time.

Perhaps not in terms of age, he only turned 21 last month after all. But with Joel Matip’s looming exit, Elliott is now the Reds’ eighth longest-serving player, and one of only nine players in Slot's inherited squad to have made more than 100 appearances for the club.

With Euro 2024 and Copa America both taking place, Liverpool could have as many as 15 players away on international duty for the bulk of the summer. Throw in the Reds’ international stars still poised for summer fixtures despite not having a continental tournament to look forward to and such a total could rise to 20.

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And with Curtis Jones handed a maiden England call-up by Gareth Southgate when selecting a 33-man preliminary squad ahead of Euro 2024, Elliott is set to be the most senior player spared international duty this summer as a result.

In truth, many a Liverpool supporter will be bemused that the 21-year-old has not been included in Southgate’s preliminary England squad. The midfielder has enjoyed a really strong second half of the campaign, after all, and forced his way into Klopp’s starting XI during the final weeks of the season.

Considering the Reds sanctioned an £150m midfield revamp last summer, bringing in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch, Elliott's stand-out performances were no mean feat.

In 2024, he provided 10 assists for Liverpool in all competitions, with only Kevin De Bruyne (16) registering more for Premier League clubs this calendar year. Meanwhile, Elliott would boast a goal and four assists from his last five starts of the season as he finished the campaign as one of the English top-flight’s most in-form players.

It's easy to forget that he was actually criticised in some sections for a limited contribution on both fronts during the opening months of the campaign. Prior to the just finished campaign, he only had one Premier League goal and two assists to his name, while his first goal contribution in all competitions this season was a last-minute assist for Luis Diaz in the 1-1 draw away at Luton Town at the start of November.

Fast forward six months and his overall totals for the season stand at four goals and 11 assists from 53 appearances, with only Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez setting up more. Yet the fact that only 27 of his outings this year were starts makes such an output even more impressive.

Meanwhile, Elliott made the joint-most appearances in the Reds squad this season, only failing to feature in five of Liverpool’s games in all competitions.

An in-form versatile attacking player, able to play in midfield, as a number 10 or on the right wing, who is consistently delivering in front of goal both with goals and assists, is a set-piece specialist on free-kicks and corners, and has been available for every game, he should be a manager’s dream for a knockout tournament.

Instead, Elliott will be watching on and cheering on his team-mates from home. While Jones and Jarell Quansah are two of eight players in England manager Southgate’s squad to have been promoted from the Under-21s over the past 12 months, and the ninth and tenth overall during the same time period, their Liverpool team-mate will have to wait to follow in such footsteps.

Such a decision is harsh on the midfielder, though not surprising given the competition for places in his position. But the Three Lions’ loss is Slot’s gain, with Elliott poised to go from strength-to-strength under the incoming head coach instead.

Set to be the most senior player who reports back to the AXA Training Centre for the very start of pre-season when Slot first takes charge of his new side at the start of July, Elliott will quietly be playing a vital role in Liverpool’s initial changing of the guard.

"We're in the best possible position because of him and his coaching staff," Elliott told the club website after Sunday’s victory over Wolves when paying tribute to departing coach Jurgen Klopp. "What he's taught us, how to become real players and real men as well.

“I think his style of play is iconic and I think we'll be taking a lot of things that we've learnt from the boss and be taking it into the next chapter. We're all very excited for it. It's a new chapter, it's a new challenge for everyone and it's a fresh start. Us as players, we need to enjoy it, we need to be excited for it as well.

"We need to show the new gaffer the ways of Liverpool, but Jurgen and his coaching have definitely left something here. It's all credit to himself and the coaching staff. We just need to enjoy it and in the summertime we can do the thinking and get ready for the next season."

Unlike so many of his club team-mates, rightly or wrongly Elliott’s 2023/24 season is over. But rather than sulk at his international snub, the boyhood Liverpool supporter will already be itching to impress his new head coach and lead the transition instead.

Returning alongside an initial young and inexperienced squad after a well-deserved summer break, he’ll be helping to set the standards as a result. Such responsibility is something he’ll thrive for.

After enjoying the best individual season of his Liverpool career to date, rivalling De Bruyne in 2024, this is just the beginning for Elliott as he prepares to work alongside the man who will, all being well, oversee his peak years at Anfield.

And with his 2024/25 campaign set to start alongside Slot from day one, he is best-placed to hit the ground running as a new Reds era begins.