Because of how large it was, “it looked like a dress”—Harvey Elliott’s QPR academy uniform.
Still, the 20-year-old playmaker from Liverpool continued on his remarkable ascent to the pinnacle of his sport. “I was the U11s manager at QPR, Harvey was U10s but we played him up an age group,” remarks Scott Chickelday, Elliott’s former youth coach.
His dad deserves a lot of the credit for making sure he arrived at each session at least thirty to forty-five minutes early. “Scott, could I please have a ball?” he would ask.
Elliott may be small, but his skill would make a big impression. His talent, ambition, and resolve more than compensated for his short stature. It has now been proved by Chickelday that those years were a crucial turning point in Elliott’s personal growth.
“Harvey needed tо feel mоre challenged,” the newly-appоinted wоmen’s cоach оf Astоn Villa stated, adding that Harvey used tо dоminate his оwn age grоup. Nо need tо be cоncerned; Harvey may nоt have been the tallest, but he dоes have sоme determinatiоn.
I appreciated that about him. He was the type of person who would get back up quickly after being struck down. Complete lack of complaint. After a year of playing at a higher level, he realized that it’s not always a good idea to get into fights or wrestles with the more physically developed boys.
It aided his ball release and placement, allowing him to receive the ball in dangerous positions where he could create havoc. He had equally ridiculous feet. During our skill sessions, Harvey was my go-to for demos. Without fail, he would always blоw it out of the water.
Chickelday keeps in regular touch with Elliott’s dad Scott and has reconnected with the England U21 forward to give him some off-season coaching.
He insists Elliott’s work ethic is the only thing that will cause his numbers to skyrocket.
“Harvey sets high standards and I think he’s shown a great attitude at Liverpool,” stated Chickelday.
When they weren’t on the field, some young players would have been talking to their agents about possible loan or transfer deals.
Regrettably, he is competing with Mohamed Salah, widely regarded as one of the world’s top players. However, Harvey is eager to learn from Mo and will happily play in any position he requests. That kind of youngster would even play goal for the team.
I expect him to put up consistent goal-and assist-scoring totals once he gets some playing time on the right wing. His young age slips your mind.
With multiple crucial contributions off the bench, Elliott has been one of Liverpool’s hidden heroes this season. In Salah’s absence, he is likely to start today’s match against Bournemouth as he aims to break into Jurgen Klopp’s starting lineup.
In the end, Chickelday said: “Harvey’s attitude is spot on.” He will continue to consider how he can impact the game even after being informed he would not start. His arrival at that English door won’t be delayed for much longer, in my opinion.