The Athletic's resident renowned English Liverpool team corespondent James Pearce exclusively confirmed during a Q&A session with fans on Tuesday that Liverpool has the right to exercise an anti-buyout clause in the transfer of England U21s international attacking midfielder wonderkid Harvey Elliott from Aston Villa.

According to Pearce's report, while Elliott will indeed join Aston Villa this season on-loan with an obligation-to-buy basis, Liverpool's inclusion of an anti-buyout clause during negotiations between the two clubs does not necessarily mean the wonderkid's time at Anfield has come to an end.

He revealed that head coach Arne Slot actually had no intention of letting Elliott leave, and the player himself was reluctant to leave, but realized that with so many new players arriving this summer, his playing time would be significantly reduced. Therefore, both parties agreed to the transfer after careful consideration.

According to the agreement, Aston Villa will be required to exercise Elliott's buyout clause for £35 million at the end of this season. However, Liverpool has the first right to exercise an anti-buyout clause for the same transfer fee immediately after the buyout clause has been triggered.

Even if Liverpool chooses not to exercise the anti-buyout clause next summer, they can still exercise Elliott's buy-back clause at any time during any transfer window in the coming years.

The buy-back clause in the agreement remains at £35 million.

Furthermore, if Liverpool chooses not to exercise the anti-buyout clause or the buy-back clause, they will also receive a 15% of Elliott's sell-on clause.

Overall, Elliott's transfer to Aston Villa is a win-win for Liverpool.

It's worth noting that, as Elliott boasts the highest average Expected Assist (xA) value (3.3) among English players in the 2023/24 Premier League season, his departure will undoubtedly impact Liverpool's attack, but it will undoubtedly benefit the Villans.

About Harvey Elliott

Harvey Elliott, who is only 22 years old, was born on April 4, 2003 in Chertsey, London, England. He is 1.7 meters tall and primarinly plays as a right winger. He can also play as an attacking midfielder. He has been a loyal Liverpool fan since he was a child.

Elliott played for the Queens Park Rangers and Fulham youth academies when he was a child. In September 2018, he completed his Fulham first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in a Carabao Cup match, breaking the record and becoming the youngest player in the history of English football.

In July 2019, Elliott joined Liverpool from Fulham for £4.3 million, becoming one of the most expensive under-16s players in English football history.

In October of the following year, Elliott was loaned-out to Blackburn Rovers. After returning to the club following his loan spell in the summer of 2021, he became one of the undisputed first choice players in Liverpool's first-team.

On this summer's transfer window deadline day, Elliott joined Aston Villa on-loan with an obligation to buy.

During his six-year spell at Liverpool, Elliott made 149 appearances in all competitions for the Reds, scoring 15 goals and providing 20 assists. During which he has won the Carabao Cup twice, the Premier League once, the FA Cup once, the Community Shield once, the UEFA Super Cup once, the Club World Cup once, and reached the Champions League final once with the club.