Unai Emery has admitted Harvey Elliott’s lack of involvement for Aston Villa this season has been embarrassing.
The midfielder has made just four Premier League appearances since joining Villa on a season-long loan from Liverpool.
Villa would have had an obligation to buy had the 23-year-old played 10 times in the league.
Emery, speaking at a press conference to preview Friday’s clash with Liverpool, said: “It is something embarrassing for everyone involved in it. My apologies for Harvey Elliott are every day in my mind.
“But it is the responsibility. We have our responsibility and Liverpool have their responsibility.
“As a human and as a person, how the season has gone has been difficult.”
Meanwhile, Arne Slot also expressed his frustration at how the current campaign has gone for the youngster.
Slot said: “I think for him, for everyone, it didn’t work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him.
“That hasn’t happened a lot. That’s not for me to answer why that is. But of course, it’s never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made – I assume – even more minutes with us than these 280.
“He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn’t happen. And for such a talented player that did so well in the U21 Euros [last summer], you want a player like that to get more and more playing time.
“He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players. I don’t know why he hasn’t made the minutes he was expecting. That’s not for me to answer.
“But it’s always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the [U21] Euros that he’s such a good player.”
PA