How to utilise Harvey Elliot?
There’s no doubt that in Harvey Elliott, LFC have a prodigious young talent on their hands. Recently returned from a fruitful loan spell at Blackburn, where the 41 appearances he racked up will have been massively beneficial for his development moving forward. His numbers were very impressive as well for one so young, as he scored 7 goals and registered 11 assists – the third highest tally in the division. It doesn’t look like he’ll go back out on loan and will be eying minutes in the cup games and perhaps when Salah and Mane are away at AFCON but what is the best way to utilise him?
At the moment, he plays as a left footed RW forward so on paper, he seems a like for like swap with Salah but Harvey and Mo are very different players. Salah’s game is all about pace and power, running in behind, breaking opponents lines and all his focus is on scoring goals but that’s not really Harvey’s game.
I’ve said pretty much since the first time I saw Elliot play, that I don’t think he’ll remain a wide player. I don’t think he’s quick enough for a start but more so because of the way he sees the game. His reading and understanding of the game is nothing short of astonishing for one so young. Players with this gift of being able to read the game, have a picture in their mind and also the technique to execute the killer pass, you generally want these players in the middle of the pitch and I personally think Harvey is more likely to develop into a David Silva type of player, than a Mo Salah. That’s the future however, what about the here and now?
It’s likely Elliot will start wide right when he plays this season but can he be effective in our system with Firmino playing the false 9 role? He doesn’t have close to Salah’s pace to run into the space behind defenders and being more of an assist maker than a goal scorer, do we risk having two players that are too similar in our front three? Personally, I don’t think we can play Elliot wide right with Firmino playing false 9, I think we really need to play a more recognised forward to get the best out of him, be that Jota, Salah or a new signing.
Another option would be for Harvey himself to play the false 9 and this is actually a position I think he’s more suited to in our system and could excel in. He has the technique, vision and passing ability to perform the role Bobby does. It is a bit of a specialist position though and not one a kid his age is likely to have much experience in so it would be a big ask to expect the kid to come in and out of the team and just hit the ground running in such a role, whenever he does play, especially with its importance in our system.
A third option and one many of us have been calling for for a while, is a switch to a 4-2-3-1 and with Gini leaving, our current personnel are becoming more and more suited to that system over the 4-3-3. Thiago and Fabinho are born to play the double pivot together and Hendo could occupy either slot as well. In Elliot but also Ox, Keita and Bobby, we have players better suited to playing the 10 role than out wide or either of the 8 positions. Personally I’d like to see us sign a more recognised CF this season but I’d also be comfortable with Jota or Salah up top with Elliot or whoever behind them in the 10.
What do you think then troops? How should we utilise young Harvey next season?
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