Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott has had a season to forget on loan at Aston Villa with the midfielder’s minutes heavily restricted as he prepares to return to Anfield this summer.
The Euro Under-21 winner joined Unai Emery’s side on loan with an option to buy of £35million on deadline day back in September. That option would become an obligation if an appearance-related clause was met.
However, the player has rarely featured for Villa this campaign and the appearance clause has not been triggered. Talks were held in January about either changing or terminating the agreement.
Elliott had already featured for the Reds in August as he was a late substitute in a Premier League win over Newcastle United, which meant he could not be sent out on loan again if the agreement was ended prematurely.
Last week, Liverpool manager Arne Slot expressed disappointment Elliott did not get as much game time as expected with Villa.
He also confirmed the player would be returning to Liverpool ahead of next campaign, with his contract running until 2027.
According to football finance expert Stefan Borson, £25million will likely be enough for Liverpool to sell Elliott.
The figure is only £10million lower than the £35million clause agreed with Villa last summer. There could be several clubs keen on a move for Elliott, who is still only 23.
Borson told Football Insider: “He’s only 23, so I doubt it’ll have that much of an impact. It feels like £25million is achievable. He was only going for £35million anyway, so somebody will take him for £25million.
“Maybe a promoted team or a lower half of the table team, £25million feels like it’s worth a go for him. But it’s been a mess really.”
Elliott spoke out after being an unused substitute in Wednesday’s Europa League final as Villa beat SC Freiburg 3-0 to win their first European trophy for 44 years.
He joked that he had played a “huge part” in the Europa League success before thanking the Villa supporters.
Leeds United are one club reportedly interested in signing Elliott.
The Whites have secured their spot in the Premier League for next season after an impressive campaign under Daniel Farke.
They are currently 11 points clear of the bottom three and have proven one of the tougher sides to beat. They have lost 12 games in the top flight, which is the fewest amongst the teams in the bottom half of the table.
The goal for the Elland Road club will now be to build on a solid first campaign back in the Premier League.
According to The Athletic, the club’s board are planning talks with Farke ahead of the summer to set out a new three-year plan.
If Elliott joined Leeds he could be seen as an upgrade on the likes of Brenden Aaronson while he would certainly provide greater strength in depth.
If results go their way on the final weekend, Leeds could finish the season as high as 11th and bank themselves more prize money to boost their transfer budget for the summer.
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Manchester United are close to reaching a full agreement for Michael Carrick’s first signing, with talks over a fee to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson at the final stages, according to Sky Sports.
Man United are wasting no time in their bid to strengthen the squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next season, with new players needed to boost a squad that will be wanting to fight strongly on two fronts in the 2026-27 campaign, as well as in the domestic cup competitions.
With the start of the World Cup a fortnight away, the Red Devils appear to be taking their opportunity to wrap up some transfer business early, given some of their transfer targets are likely to be taking part in the tournament in North America.
Ederson missed out on a spot in Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad, which will be a positive for United as it means he can join up with them for the start of pre-season should a deal go ahead.
The Red Devils’ recruitment team have identified central midfield as a key position for months, with Casemiro’s summer exit being confirmed in January, and a general shortage of quality and depth in that area.
According to Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas, posting on X, Manchester United are close to agreeing a deal with Atalanta to sign Ederson.
The ‘world-class’ Brazilian has already agreed terms on a five-year contract, according to GIVEMESPORT sources, with a club-to-club agreement now on the verge of being reached.
According to Sky Sports, the deal will be worth around €44m (£38m), with the deal being broken down to €40.5m guaranteed for the Serie A outfit, and a further €3.5m in add-ons.
The outlet add that a full agreement could be reached by the end of the week, which is just over 24 hours away.
While United work on a deal to sign Ederson from Atalanta, a report from Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb at the weekend suggested they are also close to an agreement to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.
Calciomercato had reported previously that Carrick wanted the Italy international to be his first signing at Old Trafford ahead of Ederson, showing how keen he is on a deal.
Negotiations with Newcastle are likely to be more difficult though, with the Magpies said to value the 26-year-old at €100m (£86m), which is a significantly higher fee than Ederson’s.
Still, the Red Devils are ready to put big money behind the right Casemiro replacement, so we can’t rule out a big-money Tonali deal in the coming weeks.
United continue to look at other midfield options too, with Manuel Ugarte potentially joining Casemiro through the Old Trafford exit door, with Mateus Fernandes of West Ham United and Carlos Baleba of Brighton and Hove Albion two more Premier League-based targets.
As with Ederson, the Red Devils are exploring opportunities from abroad too, with Real Madrid duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde both linked in recent weeks, having been involved in a big behind-scenes bust-up on the training pitch.
Manchester United enjoyed a fine season in 2025/26, finishing up in third place and claiming a spot in next season’s Champions League competition.
The Red Devils finished 14 points off top, but also 14 points above sixth-placed Bournemouth, showing their quality, with captain Bruno Fernandes leading the way with his performances in a record-breaking campaign in which he registered 21 assists in the Premier League, more than anyone else in the history of the division.
But the record-breaking assist for the Portugal international, which came on the final day in the 3-0 win over Brighton, was shrouded in controversy, with some calling for it to be recorded as an own goal after Patrick Dorgu’s header rebounded off the crossbar and hit the hand of goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen before going in.
The Premier League have since confirmed that the record will stand, after the dubious goal panel gave Dorgu the goal, but one ex-Man Utd star has called for them to reconsider their decision.
Plenty of rival fans have been calling for the assist to be scrapped, with Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne previously holding the record of 20 assists in a Premier League season.
And while speaking to BetVictor, via The Sun, former Man Utd midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba was asked for his opinion on the situation, and he revealed that he is in the same boat and feels that it should be chalked off.
“I think it should be chalked off,” he said.
“You can clearly see what happened. The ball did not cross the line properly and it came back off the goalkeeper into the net.
“In my opinion, they need to remove it. If the rules are the rules, then it should not count as an assist.”
Djemba-Djemba is widely regarded as one of the worst signings from the Sir Alex Ferguson era, having played just 39 games for the club over 18 months before leaving for Aston Villa.
Assists have always been a bit of a weird phenomenon in football, because you be credited with one for a sideways one yard pass, and receive nothing at all if you dribble past the whole team and play a pass to someone else who sets up the goal.
But what Fernandes did this season, while playing as a holding midfielder for much of the campaign under Ruben Amorim in a struggling team, before leading the side to a third-place finish and registering goals or assists against all but three opponents this season, tells you how good he was.
Some replays show that the ball was heading in before the touch off the goalkeeper, while others show the opposite. There’s nothing concrete, and therefore it would be crazy for the league to take the assist, and therefore the record, away from him.
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