By Daniel Feliciano

12th Aug, 2022 | 12:37pm

Scouting expert: Harvey Elliott has a 'huge' opportunity to make Liverpool starting spot his own

We’re delighted to welcome Football Manager’s Wolves researcher Dave Azzopardi as our exclusive columnist. Each week the scouting expert will be giving his views on the biggest talking points on Wonderkids across the UK…

Harvey Elliott has a “huge” opportunity to earn himself a regular starting spot in the Liverpool midfield after Thiago’s latest injury issue.

The Spanish international suffered a hamstring injury at the start of the second half of their opening day draw against Fulham, which saw Elliott come on and dictate the game from a deeper position.

And after penning a new five-year deal in midweek, Dave Azzopardi feels a good run of performances now while Thiago is out could give Jurgen Klopp a massive selection headache because of the talent Elliott has.

“He’s another one where an injury has sort of held him back, but he’s definitely a talented player,” he told The Football Wonderkids.

“This could be, as bad as it sounds, but there are players whose career almost kickstarts because of the injury to other players.

Subscribe to Football Insider TV now

So the fact that Thiago is injured and it’s possibly going to give him the opportunity to start more games for Liverpool, if he can continue and show the talent that he’s got and put his mark on that Liverpool team, then Thiago could come back and give Jurgen Klopp a real selection headache.

“It’s a huge opportunity for him. He’s a talented player, still got loads of talent and energy, and when they’re that young they want to show what they can do.

They sometimes tend to run the show as well, so it will be intriguing for him in such a strong Liverpool team to see what he can do.”

Elliott is tipped to start for the Reds when they take on Crystal Palace at Anfield on Monday [August 15].

In other Liverpool news, Curtis Jones has been ruled out for a month with a calf injury