Harvey Elliott can repeat Leon Bailey heroics in Aston Villa’s clash against Everton
Aston Villa make the trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time in their history this weekend to take on Everton.
Villa’s start to the season has been underwhelming to say the least, with Unai Emery’s men losing twice and drawing once in their first three games of the new Premier League campaign.
It remains to be seen whether Emi Martinez will regain his starting position in between the sticks after it was recently revealed that Martinez actively tried to push through a move to leave Villa.
It is also unclear whether Harvey Elliott will be handed his Premier League debut by Emery this weekend, but if he is, he will have the opportunity to do something no Villa player has done in just over four years.
Harvey Elliott could follow in Leon Bailey’s footsteps on his debut
Elliott was signed on deadline day after joining from Liverpool in a signing that was much needed after Villa’s disappointing transfer window up to that point.
Alongside Jadon Sancho, Elliott’s arrival could bring the best out of Morgan Rogers.
With Rogers’ performance on England duty earning praise from Gary Lineker, there are plenty of reasons now for the Villa faithful to expect an upturn in their domestic form, starting with Everton.
Although he found gametime hard to come by at Liverpool, Elliott often impressed when he started.
- In Elliott’s last seven Premier League starts, he has seven goal contributions
- Two of these are goals, whilst five are assists
If Elliott does feature against Everton and keeps up this fine creative record, he will become the first player since Bailey to register an assist on his Premier League debut for Villa, with Bailey being the last one to achieve this in August 2021.
Harvey Elliott to showcase his true potential at Villa
Elliott offers Emery valuable versatility, with the Spaniard being able to deploy his new signing as a number eight, 10 or out on the right wing.
Whilst the youngster’s talent has been there for all to see, the game time he received at Liverpool was inadequate for a player of his potential.
This was, without a doubt, a factor in Elliott’s decision to make the move to B6, as he had this to say when doing his first interview as a Villa player.
“For me now, it’s about kicking on as a player. The only way to do that is by playing games, and there’s no better place to do that than here – especially with this manager, his philosophy, and the way he plays.”
With Villa’s forward line being ineffective to start the new season, Elliott may not have to wait long before he forces himself into the starting lineup at Villa.
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