Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has praised the training performances of Harvey Elliott.
Elliott has been a solid performer for the Reds during the early part of the season. Some fine displays from the bench have led to the 20-year-old forging something of a ‘super-sub’ reputation.
And according to Lijnders during today’s pre-Bournemouth press conference, Elliott’s good run of form has come straight from the training pitch.
“I said to Harvey probably two, three weeks ago, I’ve never seen him this good in training and he was not playing at the time – that’s why I spoke with him,” said the coach.
“He’s really consistent in his performance, that’s something we wanted from him as well. He acts more like a senior than you think, similar to Curtis [Jones], they are with us for such a long time already and he has this character as well to be like that.
“He makes an impact, he has to create, has to play the final pass, needs to arrive and score. He’s a really, really good player, we all see this.”
Lijnders raves about Elliott
If Liverpool supporters listen to anyone on how the team’s training sessions have been going, then it should be Lijnders.
Ever since being promoted to Jurgen Klopp’s right-hand man, the Dutchman has been running training.
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Whereas Jurgen is often simply an observer, Lijnders devises and runs the sessions. As a result, he’s the man in the know about training at Liverpool.
So, when he says someone has been ‘better than ever’ on the AXA pitches, it’s worth taking note. And in Elliott’s case, it doesn’t come as a surprise – the youngster has been superb all season
Harvey Elliott
Granted, Elliott has looked better when coming off the bench rather than starting games, but that’s all part and parcel of growing into this team. With new signings all over the place, he may have been worried about slipping out of Klopp’s thinking.
But, after 14 games of the new campaign, Harvey has played a part in 12 of them. He’s a huge part of this Liverpool squad.
Still somehow only 20, the England U21 international is only going to get better, too.
As Lijnders points out, his maturity and experience around the club make him feel like a player two or three years older than he is. As he continues to train and learn from teammates like Mohamed Salah, his development could soon sky-rocket. Keep up the great work, Harvey!
