Brighton reportedly believe they have a good chance of signing Liverpool star Harvey Elliott with the Reds seemingly content with letting him leave.
Florian Wirtz joining Liverpool for £116m likely has something to do with it but given the fact that Elliott only played 822 minutes for Arne Slot, I do wonder if the 22-year-old was not in the manager’s mind regardless.
As a result, Elliott only managed five goals and three assists – a major drop on the four goals and fourteen assists he contributed in Jurgen Klopp’s final season at the club.
Now, with game time likely to be even harder to find after Wirtz officially joined the club last week, Elliott would not be blamed if he decided to take his services elsewhere.
It’s a disappointing turn of events because the former Fulham prodigy is a truly special player.
Brighton “confident” of agreeing deal with Liverpool to sign Harvey Elliott
According to Football Insider, Brighton are “confident’ of agreeing” a deal with Liverpool to sign Elliott and are the favourites to be the club that showcases his creative prowess next season.
Brighton will have to match Liverpool’s £40m asking price but their confidence suggests this is a deal that they are more than capable of getting done.
The Seagulls being interested in Elliott should set alarm bells off at Liverpool given how their club operates. They seem to be aiming to become the Borussia Dortmund of the Premier League with they way they recruit top talent and sell them for large figures.
Their deal to sell Moises Caicedo for a Premier League record transfer fee of £115m is evidence of their approach and signing Elliott for £40m with the potential to recoup £60m+ in five years underlines Elliott’s promise.
Liverpool MUST include a buyout clause regardless of they sell Elliott to
Even if Brighton don’t end up being the club that signs Elliott, Liverpool cannot sell the playmaker without including a buyback clause for protection.
It would offset the risk of seeing him become world class in a few years only to no longer be able to afford him. If the Reds have included a buyback clause in their deal to sell Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen, it would be unwise to not also do so for Elliott given he arguably has the higher ceiling.
