Federico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott have both made telling impacts off the bench in recent weeks, which shows more trust is required in those on the outside looking in at Liverpool.
There was a moment early in the second half of Liverpool’s remarkable win in Paris where assistant Sipke Hulshoff leaned over towards Kostas Tsimikas, seemingly to give him information about a potential substitute appearance.
In the process, Hulshoff leaned over Harvey Elliott, who looked every inch like a man furious that he was not getting a similar pre-game pep talk.
As it turned out, it was Elliott and not Tsimikas who entered the field, and not only did he enter, but the young Englishman left the Parc des Princes as the match-winning hero.
Elliott’s battle to avoid ‘moments player’ tag
The high of that win faded away as PSG returned the favour with interest in the second leg, but the impact on Elliott’s Liverpool career could last much longer.
It has been a frustrating season for the 21-year-old. After appearing in 34 out of 38 Premier League games in Jurgen Klopp‘s final campaign and taking the field 53 times across all competitions, the feast had turned to famine under Arne Slot.
A broken foot in September on international duty hasn’t helped, but Elliott has featured in just 11 of 29 league games, and not once has he been named in the starting lineup. Prior to the 3-1 win over Southampton, former Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour had more played Premier League minutes than Elliott this term, and the Scot joined Napoli back in August.
There have been starts in all three cup competitions, but when you look at the players starting alongside him, it’s hard not to feel as though the boyhood Red had become an afterthought.
January brought rumours of interest from Brighton and the Bundesliga, and while there’s no doubting his talent, it’s clear that if he reaches May with a Premier League winner’s medal but zero Premier League starts, he may have a difficult decision on his hands.
Liverpool legend John Barnes has acknowledged the talent Elliott has at his disposal, but explained that he can be in no doubt of the midfield priorities in the eyes of Slot.
“Harvey is a fabulous player, but those ahead of him in any of the attacking midfield positions will get the nod before him, and if any of them leave, Liverpool will look to replace them with a player who will go above Harvey in the pecking order,” Barnes told This Is Anfield.
“He will have to decide whether he’s happy being an important squad player, or look for a regular starting spot elsewhere.”
His goalscoring cameo against PSG was consolidated by another impressive substitute showing against Southampton, and while he couldn’t help his team unlock the door in the second leg of the Champions League last 16, a third straight appearance suggests the potential for a resurrection of his reputation in the eyes of his head coach.
Slot admitted that he made a mistake in starting Dominik Szoboszlai against the Saints, and with the Hungary captain being one of many players involved in competitive matches during the international break, that first start may not be too far away.
Former Liverpool player and LFCTV analyst Neil Mellor agrees with Barnes that Elliott has been unlucky, but believes he can still play an important part in what remains a special season for the club, telling This Is Anfield: “He has been unfortunate that the players in his position have been so good and available.
“I thought he would have played more, but Ryan, Dom, and Macca have been at incredible levels. He has to be ready because he can still play a vital role in games between now and the end of the season. He has the ability and has shown how he can influence games at the top level.”
Chiesa and the Carabao Cup final
Despite Liverpool’s limp defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, more shoots of that promise showed for both Elliott and one of his comrades in what could be termed ‘the bomb squad’, Federico Chiesa.
It was, after all, Elliott who won the ball in the middle of the pitch before threading a perfect pass through for his fellow substitute who, with the composure and precision of a player with much more rhythm than could feasibly be expected of him, slotted in to give Liverpool hope of an unlikely – and ultimately impossible – comeback.
Chiesa arrived on Merseyside with plenty of fanfare, as an international player of some pedigree. The low fee of £12.5 million required to secure his release from Juventus was an indicator of his struggles with injury, but even so, the feeling was that he would represent a low risk and a potentially high reward.
Unfortunately for the amiable Italian and his admirers, Slot has deemed putting him on the pitch too high of a risk. Chiesa has managed just 25 minutes in the Premier League and before Wembley hadn’t touched grass since the end of January, during a Champions League dead rubber in Eindhoven.
Like Elliott, there have been injury issues, but he spent 10 fixtures after PSV without making it off the bench despite being fit and available. There were two occasions where he didn’t even make it onto the bench.
The sight of a rusty at best and patently unfit at worst Cody Gakpo thrown into the maelstrom of the second leg against PSG was a damning indictment of Chiesa’s prospects.
The situation has caused consternation, as fans wonder aloud why a player who lit up the Euros in 2021 and amassed 13 goal contributions in 37 games last season can’t even get an opportunity. Slot has consistently refused to place blame at Chiesa’s door.
Lack of a pre-season was the reason given in the first half of the season, and now his barrier has been the stellar form of the man who regularly plays in his favoured position – Liverpool’s talisman, Mohamed Salah.
“Everybody here knows the numbers Mo Salah brings in; there’s not many times a reason to take him out during a game or before a game,” explained Slot.
“Also because he is so fit. He was the fittest player that came in in pre-season, and he does everything every single day to keep his match fitness. He wants to play every game. And he shows up every single game.”
No one would question that statement when it was delivered back in January, but in mid-March, the business end of the season, there are signs that the 32-year-old could benefit from a bit more rest.
Hindsight is 20/20, but to see the ease with which PSG’s Nuno Mendes was able to shackle Salah across both legs brings the decision to play him for 90 minutes against the league’s bottom side into serious question.
A fresh Chiesa with a point to prove, unleashed alongside Elliott from the start, may have seen Liverpool take the initiative against Southampton instead of calling for the cavalry at half-time.
To make five rather than three changes may have sacrificed some rhythm, but if Slot is unwilling to trust his squad against a team that had won two of 27 games, when will he?
Earning Slot’s trust
There are a parade of elephants in the room that must be addressed at this point. The training pitch is the place for underused players to stake their claim for a spot in the team, and we have precious little access to what happens during those sessions.
Aside from effort and application, a player must show an ability to absorb and follow a manager’s instructions. Those who don’t will have a hard time earning minutes.
If that were the case, it would be a surprise to hear it publicly. Those kinds of statements can have a detrimental effect on team chemistry, as we have learned from the travails of Man United. Therefore, we are only left with speculation, but it also means that it can’t be ruled out as a possibility.
With Chiesa, the Italian connections of Richard Hughes have allowed the impression to develop that his signing was at the behest of the sporting director as opposed to the head coach.
As a renowned training ground wizard, there’s no doubt that Slot would have felt that he could get a tune out of a player with such appealing raw materials, but when push comes to shove, he may not have a similar determination to make it work, in comparison to Klopp reportedly putting his neck on the line to sign Darwin Nunez.
For Elliott, his biggest barriers are those that he can’t control – speed and stature. In a recent chat with Sky Sports, Slot was asked what he looked for in a player. His answer didn’t sound like a ringing endorsement of his young midfielder:
“There are players that have a lot of quality on the ball, but if you can’t turn quickly or change directions quickly, and you’re not able to run a lot, then it’s going to be really hard to play in the modern game, at this level.”
Running power, pressing, speed, and stamina represent the biggest difference between Elliott and the man he is struggling to displace, Dominik Szoboszlai. Now that Duracell Dom has added goal contributions to his physical attributes, he may be even harder to dislodge.
All season long, Slot has shown little inclination to veer away from his tried and trusted. Against PSG at Anfield was the eighth time the Dutchman had fielded his most-used XI in 47 games this season. Jurgen Klopp was another manager who preferred a small squad, but his most-used XI took the field just five times in his 491 games at the club.
The late return of so many from last summer’s international tournaments prohibited the head coach’s ability to make a mark on personnel upon arrival. His decision to work with what he had, and see what he can get from them on the training pitch, has undoubtedly bore fruit.
Despite outside claims of bottling a quadruple, Liverpool are still on course to secure a 20th league title. For a man who had only managed in the Eredivisie, with the spectre of three of his best players leaving for free in the summer hanging above his head, the job has been nothing short of remarkable.
However, the consequences of those summer decisions are beginning to show. Liverpool are still winning games, but without the intensity and vivacity shown in the winter months. Ten players have featured in at least 39 of the 47 games this term, amassing more than 2,500 minutes on the pitch, with another 810 to play before the end of the season.
Arsenal had similar numbers last year and have since paid the price, with four of their seven most-used performers – Ben White, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz – suffering long-term injuries.
Working with a tight squad is much easier in Holland, where there is only one domestic cup, matches aren’t as physically demanding, and the teams towards the bottom of the league don’t offer as strong a test.
Leaving Europe means that Liverpool’s final midweek game of the season will be the Merseyside derby on April 2, so the likelihood remains that Slot will continue to ride those horses who have taken him to the brink of the promised land.
What’s next for Liverpool’s fringe duo
For Elliott and Chiesa, the hope is that the league title is secured early enough for them to gain starts in April and May, which will be tantamount to an audition to remain beyond what promises to be a pivotal summer of player recruitment.
Neither man has allowed their personal frustrations to impact the team goals, which, as Barnes highlights, is a testament to them and those that recruited them:
“Jurgen signed players of good character who won’t sulk and destabilise the team if they aren’t starting or playing. Having quality players in reserve – not just Elliott or Chiesa, as Nunez has proved – is always important.
“The thing is for them to stay motivated and ready even for the last five minutes, and Liverpool players have never sulked when called upon for two minutes.”
Elliott proved that he can follow that blueprint by scoring the winner in Paris, while Chiesa recaptured the imagination with his own goalscoring cameo at Wembley, and now they must hope that Slot adapts his own blueprint to give them a chance to prove their worth.
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