Aston Villa manager Unai Emery confirmed on Thursday that the club will not trigger the buy-out clause of Liverpool's England U21s international attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott.

Emery made these remarks on the eve of Villa's Europa League match against Basel midweek when asked by a journalist from The Athletic about Elliott's month-long absence since joining on-loan.

He said, current indications suggest that although Elliott is still on-loan, the likelihood of his buy-out clause being triggered is extremely low, and he will discuss compensation options with Elliott and Liverpool.

Emery said, "We are in communication with him and his club (Liverpool) to understand his situation. He is not currently in our squad."

"Firstly, this is my decision, and it's the current situation. He is currently on-loan with us, but we cannot yet determine whether he will sign a permanent contract."

"Hopefully, we can find a solution that is beneficial for both him and us. I respect his ability as a player and as an individual. He trains very hard, but our current situation is somewhat unique."

"Hopefully, we can find a solution that allows him to play consistently and try to stay with us, or choose to leave."

This confirms the earlier report by The Athletic that Liverpool retains the right to recall Elliott early.

With Egypt international legendary forward Mohamed Salah's future becoming uncertain after he recently suddenly criticized the club by, accusing them of "throwing him under the bus" for the team's poor performances, a return to Liverpool in January might not be a bad thing.

With Liverpool facing not only the potential departure of Salah but also a multitude of injuries and poor player form, the young player, who recently received the PFA's Special Contribution Award, may find a new lease on life at Anfield.

On the summer transfer window deadline day, Elliott joined Aston Villa on-loan with a obligation to buy.

According to the loan agreement, Elliott's £35 million buy-out clause would be triggered if he makes 10 appearances for Villa this season.

However, since coming on as a substitute for the final four minutes in the Europa League match against Feyenoord in October, Elliott has spent a month (13 games) on the bench.

Previously, The Athletic confirmed that while Elliott would indeed join Aston Villa on-loan with a mandatory buy-out clause this season, but Liverpool's insistence on including an anti-buyout clause in the negotiations meant that the young star's time at Anfield was definitely over.

According to the agreement, Villa would indeed be obligated to exercise their £35 million buy-out clause for Elliott at the end of the season. However, Liverpool had the option to exercise the buy-back clause immediately after the buy-out clause was enforced, for the same transfer fee.

Even if Liverpool did not exercise the buy-back clause next summer, the Reds could exercise their buy-back clause at any time in the following years during any transfer window.

The buy-back clause in the agreement would still cost £35 million.

Furthermore, if Liverpool chose not to exercise either the buy-back or buy-back clause, they would still receive 15% of any sell-on clause for Elliott's future transfer.

Furthermore, in case of unforeseen circumstances, Liverpool can exercise its right to recall Harvey Elliott.

About Harvey Elliott

Harvey Elliott, who is only still 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.

Furthermore, he set a record in the 2023/24 Premier League season by becoming the English player with the highest Expected Assist (xA) value of (3.3), and just this summer, he won the UEFA European Under-21s title with the England U21s national team.