'Not so easy' – Arne Slot issues Harvey Elliott update amid Brighton transfer link

Arne Slot insists midfielder Harvey Elliott has been unlucky not to have more minutes for Liverpool this season.

Elliott, 21, is fit one again following a foot injury but the former Fulham man has played just 147 minutes of football across all competitions this term.

It has increased speculation of a January move away from Anfield with Brighton, who spent more than £200m on fresh talent in last summer’s window, linked with making a move.

“I agree with you he’s a talented player,” said Slot to reporters ahead of their FA Cup clash against Accrington Stanley tomorrow. “He’s been this for us for so long,”

“In recent weeks he comes in quite a lot and gets his minutes over there, but like it is for him, like it is for all the others, they are in competition with many other good players as well.

“He was very unlucky that after two games he got injured, was out for a long time. And from what I’ve seen until now, with almost all of our players that have been out for quite a while, in this league, in this tempo, in this intensity, and the quality we have, the other teams have as well, it is not so easy to come back and be at your best immediately.

“I see this not only with Harvey,” added Slot. “I see this with almost all the other players that have been out for five, six, seven or eight weeks.

“That is the balance we have to find, by giving them playing time to get back to their best level but still be able to win every game.

“Our margins are constantly small. If you’re 5-0 up you can give players that have been out for quite a long time half an hour or a half or even longer.

“But that is not the way we win, or won, our games until now. That’s also the reason why, if one or two times we were a bit unlucky, that we can draw a game or lose a game.”

Elliott is valued at around £30m and is contracted with Liverpool until June 2027. Brighton are not expected to conduct too much business this window and already have the likes of Brajan Gruda, Yankuba Minteh, Solly March, Ferdi Kadioglu and Facundo Buonanotte (on loan at Leicester) who can play in Elliott’s position.

"I really trust [chairman Tony Bloom], and David [Weir] and Paul [Barner],” said Hurzeler when asked about his plans for January. “I am sure we will find the right solution for the situation.

"But in the end I will just focus on the match on Saturday and try to work with the players that are available, because in the end it's still a really strong squad with strong players on the pitch.

"We are just trying to find the right togetherness, the right connection and relationships on the pitch, then hopefully in the future we can build this consistency in the starting XI. "We haven't been able to do this so far this season. That's a big thing we try to work on, so I am sure we will make the right decisions regarding the transfer window this winter."