Harvey Elliott (signed on loan)

[Rigadon]

Isn’t it just! We’re used to it now,  but it’s mental. 

[N'ZMAV]

Or just play him a total of 9 times

[eye digress]

Found it - our Percy, well our other Percy:

Aston Villa have included Liverpool-loanee Harvey Elliott in their squad for Sunday’s game at Newcastle.

Elliott has only featured five times under Emery, with his last appearance coming as a late substitute against Feyenoord in the Europa League on 2 October.

Yet injuries to Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn have resulted in the England under-21 international travelling for the game at St James’ Park.

Villa signed Elliott on loan from Liverpool on deadline day last summer with an agreement to sign him for £35m on a permanent deal if he reached 10 Premier League appearances.​

Telegraph Sport understands five of those appearances have to be in the second half of this season for the deal to be triggered.

So we could have played him as much as we'd wanted before New Year's without worrying about him playing too many games to trigger the clause?!

Or conversely, that a 6th appearance in the first half of the season could have triggered it, or at least taken us into a grey legal area. Which could explain why he was suddenly dumped from the squad - and the split with Monchi.

[PaulTheVillan]

It’s like a new signing

[Meanwood Villa]

With Abraham and Bailey's returns this month, nothing surprises me in terms of personnel at the moment

[N'ZMAV]

it's like a spin the wheel on who is in the squad

[eamonn]

Found it - our Percy, well our other Percy:

Aston Villa have included Liverpool-loanee Harvey Elliott in their squad for Sunday’s game at Newcastle.

Elliott has only featured five times under Emery, with his last appearance coming as a late substitute against Feyenoord in the Europa League on 2 October.

Yet injuries to Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn have resulted in the England under-21 international travelling for the game at St James’ Park.

Villa signed Elliott on loan from Liverpool on deadline day last summer with an agreement to sign him for £35m on a permanent deal if he reached 10 Premier League appearances.​

Telegraph Sport understands five of those appearances have to be in the second half of this season for the deal to be triggered.

So we could have played him as much as we'd wanted before New Year's without worrying about him playing too many games to trigger the clause?!

Or conversely, that a 6th appearance in the first half of the season could have triggered it, or at least taken us into a grey legal area. Which could explain why he was suddenly dumped from the squad - and the split with Monchi.

Actually, that makes more sense. But what a weird clause to agree to...

[PaulWinch again]

Well I suspect it’s because when it was agreed it was done with the full expectation it would be triggered.

[eye digress]

Found it - our Percy, well our other Percy:

Aston Villa have included Liverpool-loanee Harvey Elliott in their squad for Sunday’s game at Newcastle.

Elliott has only featured five times under Emery, with his last appearance coming as a late substitute against Feyenoord in the Europa League on 2 October.

Yet injuries to Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn have resulted in the England under-21 international travelling for the game at St James’ Park.

Villa signed Elliott on loan from Liverpool on deadline day last summer with an agreement to sign him for £35m on a permanent deal if he reached 10 Premier League appearances.​

Telegraph Sport understands five of those appearances have to be in the second half of this season for the deal to be triggered.

So we could have played him as much as we'd wanted before New Year's without worrying about him playing too many games to trigger the clause?!

Or conversely, that a 6th appearance in the first half of the season could have triggered it, or at least taken us into a grey legal area. Which could explain why he was suddenly dumped from the squad - and the split with Monchi.

Actually, that makes more sense. But what a weird clause to agree to...

The weirdness of it would explain Monchi’s fairly sudden departure, I guess?

“Weird” is putting it mildly, no? It’s criminal!

[eamonn]

Well I suspect it’s because when it was agreed it was done with the full expectation it would be triggered.

The difference in him being on-loan and made permanent automatically at the end of the season to help with our PSR versus "You have 4/5 games in each half of the season to try before you buy" seemingly rendered such a clause almost pointless - except it looks like we're doing just that!

[Brazilian Villain]

Actually, that makes more sense. But what a weird clause to agree to...

The weirdness of it would explain Monchi’s fairly sudden departure, I guess?

“Weird” is putting it mildly, no? It’s criminal!

I fully expect William Shatner to do a TV programme on it.

[Sexual Ealing]

This is why I always now believe stories that say things like ‘Villa were in pole position to sign Lewandowski but Ollie Watkins has a clause in his contract that states all Polish internationals have to live next door but one to him and the neighbours refused to move house’. It’s like we’re trying to get in the ‘and finally…’ section of the local radio news.

[LeeB]

This is why I always now believe stories that say things like ‘Villa were in pole position to sign Lewandowski but Ollie Watkins has a clause in his contract that states all Polish internationals have to live next door but one to him and the neighbours refused to move house’. It’s like we’re trying to get in the ‘and finally…’ section of the local radio news.

It was a goer but Polish tradition says you have to move in to the left of the man you're planning to usurp, the house next door but one on the right was available.