Harvey Elliott was axed from the Aston Villa squad to face Manchester City on Sunday after Villans boss Unai Emery admitted the player’s performances haven’t been good enough to warrant a starting place. The 22-year-old joined Villa on a season-long loan from Liverpool in the summer but has featured just five times for the west Midlands giants.

Elliott, who starred as England won the European Under-21 Championship in the summer, made 149 appearances for Liverpool after joining the club from Fulham in 2019. But he struggled to nail down a regular starting place under Arne Slot and agreed to move to Villa Park in his quest to play more football.

Elliott made his Villa debut as a late substitute during the team’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Everton last month.

After another cameo appearance against Sunderland, he was handed a starting place against Fulham at the end of September.

But he was hooked at half-time and was left on the bench during Villa’s subsequent Premier League showdowns with Burnley and Tottenham.

He didn’t make it off the bench against Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa...