Elliott shows he’s ready to step up
HARVEY ELLIOTT could be next in line for a call-up by England boss Gareth Southgate from the Under 21s after a camp in which two youngsters received promotions.
Kobbie Mainoo was in one door and out the other earlier in the week, with Jarrad Branthwaite also getting the nod. Being a Young Lion has never been so encouraging.
Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and Levi Colwill have also been afforded senior recognition this season but one man who still waits is 20-year-old Elliott.
The Liverpool man was a big part of England’s Under 21s Euro triumph last summer. His solo goal in the defeat of Germany was one of the standout moments in Georgia.
And he netted the first and fourth of this qualifying breeze in Azerbaijan, taking his total to seven in his last five at this level. Wearing his collar up spoke to Elliott’s swagger rather than any protest against the detail on the back of the new kit.
‘The way he’s been playing every week for Liverpool, and the impact he’s made, means he’s putting himself in a great position,’ said Under 21 boss Lee Carsley. ‘It was a really strong end to the season in a really strong team.
‘ He is connected to this team but there is never any temptation from me to keep them here. He’s got the ability to score all kinds of goals. If he can keep adding those, it’s a big thing and the senior team really value people who can put the numbers together.’
Despite losing in Ukraine in October, England’s spot at next year’s Under 21 Euros in Slovakia looks secure.
Elliott’s passed finish, latching on to Liverpool team-mate Tyler Morton’s menacing cross, opened the game up midway through the first half. Noni
Madueke added a second, bundling in the lively Jaden Philogene’s cross just before the half hour. After half-time, Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed towards goal from a Morton corner and the ball struck Philogene on the way in.
Debutant Morgan Rogers, asked to lead the line, swivelled inside the box and had the presence of mind to spot Elliott’s late run, leaving the midfielder with a tap-in.
That took him past Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko as top scorer in qualifying. Not a bad record to have and Elliott will want to back this up at his club. If he keeps adding goals to his nine in Liverpool red — the latest coming at Manchester United at the weekend — then perhaps Southgate will take a closer look.
England could not keep a clean sheet though, Burnley keeper James Trafford palming into the path of Ramin Nasirli, before another debutant — Leeds’ Archie Gray — galloped forward to notch the fifth, just minutes after coming on for Lewis.