Harvey Elliott is set to be a player in high demand this summer after his starring role for England’s under-21s as they retained their European crown last weekend.
The Liverpool gem was named by UEFA as the official player of the tournament as he scored five goals in helping Lee Carsley’s side to win the trophy back-to-back, with one of those opening the scoring in the final against Germany.
Despite excelling on the international stage, though, the 22-year-old faces an uncertain future at club level, having been restricted to mostly substitute appearances under Arne Slot last season and playing just 822 minutes for the Reds in 2024/25.
How much would Liverpool want for Elliott this summer?
In the latest version of The Transfer DealSheet for The Athletic, which was published on Tuesday morning, David Ornstein wrote that Elliott is ‘attracting significant interest from elsewhere’ after starring at the European Under-21 Championship, with RB Leipzig among his many suitors.
Using the £30m they’re about to reap from Jarell Quansah as a guideline, Liverpool would be seeking an offer of either £40m with a buyback option if they’re to sell their number 19, or £50m+ without one.
It’s added that, if the 22-year-old were to leave Anfield, he’d want to operate at an elite level, which could mean joining another club in the Champions League. That might duly open the door to a move abroad, with LFC possibly inserting clauses which’d ‘give them an element of control or benefit’ in relation to a future transfer.
How likely are Liverpool to cash in on Elliott this summer?
Prominent journalist Henry Winter has implored Elliott to move on from Liverpool this summer, justifiably believing him to be ‘too good’ to continue warming the bench at Anfield, and now could be a good time for the Reds to cash in with his stock having risen off the back of his England under-21 exploits.
Having signed him from Fulham for just £1.5m (potentially rising to £2.8m) in a fee determined by a subsequent tribunal (liverpoolfc.com), to reap £40m-£50m from selling him would represent an enormous profit on a player whose starting prospects are set to be restricted even further by the club-record arrival of Florian Wirtz.
However, with LFC having already parted with four of their ‘homegrown’ players from last season’s squad, they find themselves sailing quite close to the wind in that regard, and losing the 22-year-old would further complicate matters. The potential acquisition of Marc Guehi could help to offset any such risk, though.
Pragmatically, the soundest solution could be for Liverpool to take advantage of Elliott’s reputational spike by accepting a sizeable offer for him this summer with the inclusion of a buyback clause so that they’re still in a position of some control should he go on to thrive elsewhere, just like they’re about to do with Quansah.
We’d love to keep our number 19 at Anfield given his ability to make a decisive impact and his value as a squad player in what’ll be another hectic season, although it must be accepted that it’d be difficult to keep the reins on such an explosive talent if his starting prospects for the Reds are meagre.
