Harvey Elliott (signed on loan)

[PaulWinch again]

Tielemans isn’t very good there. Emi B has done great, but a bit premature to assume it’s something long-term as opposed to a brief up tick in form. I’d love Rogers to stay long-term, but would imagine he’ll be off next summer or the following depending what this new contract talk is about.

So I can quickly see why Elliott could be very important to us.

[Dante Lavelli]

Tielemans isn’t very good there. Emi B has done great, but a bit premature to assume it’s something long-term as opposed to a brief up tick in form. I’d love Rogers to stay long-term, but would imagine he’ll be off next summer or the following depending what this new contract talk is about.

So I can quickly see why Elliott could be very important to us.

I suppose my worry is buying Elliot increases the likelihood that we must sell Rogers.  Keeping Rogers and having Buendia as reserve seems a sensible balance to me and should mean the £30m can be spent elsewhere.

[brontebilly]

Do we need him, or more to the point, would our limited money be better invested elsewhere?

Seems he is behind Rogers, Tillemans, Buendia for the ten role.  Competing with McGinn, Guessand and potentially Sancho for the RW position.  Starting to think the money would be better invested in a pacy winger.

Except we don't play with wingers really, pacey or otherwise. See Malen. Tielemans and Buendia injured now opens up an opportunity for him and Sancho to a degree. Not making the squad even would suggest he has quite a bit of work ahead of him.

[PaulWinch again]

I think we’ll look back at the end of the season and be saying “that was a weird start, but what a player we have here”. He’s a big talent and I think he’ll be a really good player for us.

[Grande Pablo]

On the basis he can’t play vs his parent club on Saturday it might be another Unai master stroke to keep the playing unit as one.  Elliott can still continue in more underhand ways…

[Dante Lavelli]

Do we need him, or more to the point, would our limited money be better invested elsewhere?

Seems he is behind Rogers, Tillemans, Buendia for the ten role.  Competing with McGinn, Guessand and potentially Sancho for the RW position.  Starting to think the money would be better invested in a pacy winger.

Except we don't play with wingers really, pacey or otherwise. See Malen. Tielemans and Buendia injured now opens up an opportunity for him and Sancho to a degree. Not making the squad even would suggest he has quite a bit of work ahead of him.

I agree with that, but I do feel one of the three (plus the striker) should have express pace and threaten the space on the outside/behind.  They can't all turn back into traffic otherwise we are too predictable.  Bailey, for example, became a much bigger threat once he offered a threat going on the outside rather than just chopping back onto his left foot.

[N'ZMAV]

Started like Tielemens did - he got it after 6 months or so

[PeterWithesShin]

Tielemans was getting a lot more minutes the first couple of months.

[Smithy]

Tielemans was getting a lot more minutes the first couple of months.

In a weaker squad (even Zaniolo was getting starts ahead of Youri in his first few months with us), and his performances were less than inspiring until I think November time in his first year with us?  Then Emery starting tweaking the formation to include him instead of a wider midfielder, and he went from strength to strength.

Plus, he was an established international with a top-5 national side and had 150 Premier League appearances to his name.  He had plenty of experience before coming to us.  Elliott doesn't have that.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that Elliott hasn't yet thrived in our side, and our set up.  He's clearly talented, and as with any talented player, I'd trust Unai to get the best out of them (eventually), even if it doesn't happen overnight.

[Drummond]

Elliott has also played a season for Liverpool, followed by a starting role in the U21 Euros . A rest whilst he adapts will make him and us stronger for the second part of the season.

[N'ZMAV]

I read somewhere he only started 1 or 2 Premier League games last season.