Liverpool attacker Harvey Elliott reiterated his desire to fight for his place at the club after scoring the winning goal in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory against Lille. Elliott replaced Ryan Gravenberch at half-time and restored the hosts’ lead in the 67th minute at Anfield after Jonathan David cancelled out Mohamed Salah‘s opener.
The 21-year-old’s strike maintained Liverpool‘s 100 per cent record in the first-ever Champions League: League Phase and has put them on the cusp of finishing top ahead of next week’s curtain-closer at PSV Eindhoven.
It was his second successive crucial contribution from the bench, having also provided the assist for Darwin Nunez’s 93rd-minute goal against Brentford on Saturday.
After Elliott’s impact in west London, he dispelled transfer links to Borussia Dortmund and Brighton and Hove Albion by committing himself to Liverpool.
He said: “Liverpool is my club. Liverpool is my team. I want to fight for my place, fight for my position in the team.
“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 he echoed that sentiment during his post-match interview after the triumph over Lille, having celebrated by gesturing that he was silencing those speculating about his future.
“I think it’s pretty clear [what the celebration meant], to be honest. I’m not leaving. I said it in an interview the other day: this is my team, my club,” Elliott told Prime Video presenter Gabby Logan.
“We’re in a great position so far this season. To be honest, I didn’t see all the stuff. It’s just a few things my friends have said to me – calling me up left, right, and centre saying where are you going? It’s the first I’ve heard of that.”
Then when Logan said: “It’s the month of speculation”, the Liverpool star replied: “It is. It’s always going to happen in January, especially since I’ve been out for a long time and have not really played as much as I want to. But that’s football.”
Elliott had featured just 10 times under Slot all season before his substitute cameo at Brentford, falling behind Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones in the pecking order.
A foot injury he suffered at the start of the season didn’t help his efforts to wow Jurgen Klopp‘s successor, but since returning, he is turning the tide.
“I’ve had conversations with the gaffer, but at the same time, I need to understand the situation. The team is flying,” Elliott responded to Robbie Fowler, who asked whether he had held talks with Slot.
“For me to be going in and saying I need to play, I need to be starting, I think it would be silly of me really because you know what the answer will be. It’s just about being patient and enjoying the moment.”
