Harvey Elliott: A star is born as Liverpool starlet looks at home in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield

Playing in midfield for Jurgen Klopp is ridiculously demanding, yet the teenager slotted in superbly despite Burnley trying to rough him up

Burnley identified Elliott as a weak link and in return he topped the progressive passes, progressive carries and pressures against them (EPA)

To look completely at home in a Jurgen Klopp midfield is a sizeable task, underwritten by some immense graft.

To manage to not just belong but be significantly influential there when it is not even your position deservedly earns respect and credit.

To achieve this at 18, on your first Premier League start against a Burnley side with orders to aggressively pressure the centre of the pitch – and target you in particular – signals the brewing of something quite special.

Hello, Harvey Elliott. We’ve heard a lot about you and now we can see why.

Since the early shoots of pre-season, Liverpool have been talking about the teenager making a proper contribution in the campaign and effectively being Xherdan Shaqiri’s replacement.

Able to function in the front three or as a playmaker, while being moulded into a rounded No 8, Elliott was also viewed as a better option to aid offensive output than Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino.

While the transfer window is in operation, those kind of words aren’t wholly swallowed, especially when a rookie is billed to absorb the responsibility of an experienced player, or more than one, and ultimately grow into a regular member of the XI.

Then in the opener against Norwich, Klopp brought on Elliott for Naby Keita, with Minamino and Origi remaining on the bench.

On Saturday came the true testament of the manager’s belief in his young gun. With Fabinho unavailable due to the passing of his father, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain attending the birth of his first child, and James Milner nursing a calf issue, Klopp turned to Elliott against Burnley.

This was despite him having the pedigreed Thiago and Curtis Jones, more exposed to the demands at this level, at his disposal.

Burnley are a unique prospect; they are inherently physical, direct, bypass midfield, prefer to keep the ball in the air or out of play and live for second-ball battles and set-piece situations. It is a fixture to endure rather than enjoy, and less than three minutes in, Josh Brownhill applied a reducer on Elliott to get some early intimidation in. Dwight McNeil followed that template soon after.

Liverpool had no fear that their starlet would be bullied, rather knowing that trying to rattle him brings out his competitive edge and A game.

It was evident in his loan spell at Blackburn and coloured his performances throughout pre-season.

Josh Brownhill applied a reducer on Elliott to get some early intimidation in (Getty)

Burnley identified Elliott as a weak link and in return he topped the progressive passes, progressive carries and pressures against them.

Popping up in pockets of space between the lines, Sean Dyche’s men could not kick the ability out of him. Elliott, illustrating an already impressive chemistry with Mohamed Salah, twice slipped the Egyptian through with crafty passing, the second leading to a goal scrubbed out for offside.

That pairing consistently probed. McNeil was needed to thwart a goalbound shot from a twisting-and-turning Salah, who had chested down an Elliott cross.

When Liverpool finally added to Diogo Jota’s opener, the teen was involved. Virgil van Dijk floated a wonderful long diagonal out to Elliott on the right touchline. He calmly controlled and quickly combined with Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose cute touch set up Sadio Mane to smash in on the volley.

The number of passes Elliott sprayed in the opposition half – 40 – and the accuracy of them at 90 per cent was a story of smart, effective play. Only the exemplary Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson had more touches than the youngster, who managed to win more than half of his duels – even aerial ones – against Burnley. Burnley!

There will be a range of differing challenges to come and it is unwise to talk up someone so young so soon.

It would be remiss, however, not to acknowledge how taxing Klopp’s system is – especially centrally – and how seamlessly Elliott slotted into it.

In the summer of 2016, when Henderson was informed he was going to be repurposed as Liverpool’s No 6, the background team warned him that long, painful hours of analysis and adjustment sessions would follow.

“There is being a midfielder, and then there is being a Klopp midfielder,” the captain would remember being told. “And being a Klopp No 6 is like learning a new sport.”

Henderson would bracket that education as the point where he transformed from “being the player I maybe thought I was to focusing on being the player the team needed. The discipline and football understanding you need to play in midfield for this manager is sky high.”

Gini Wijnaldum credits his change to being taken more seriously and seen as an all-round footballer to his metamorphosis in Klopp’s midfield.

Fabinho, one of the best anchors in world football, took six months to get to grips with the specific requirements at Liverpool. The wondrous Thiago is still adjusting.

And so to repeat, being at home in a Klopp midfield at 18 is Quite The Thing. 

“Everybody wants to talk to me about Harvey and I understand absolutely,” the manager said.

“When an 18-year-old boy plays such a mature game I can understand why everyone was asking, but I was not surprised he played like this.

“That is exactly how he has trained now for six or seven weeks since we are back, since he is back from loan.”

Hello, Harvey Elliott. We’ve heard a lot about you and now we can see why.