Neil Mellor has heaped praise upon one Liverpool player who’s been excelling on international duty over the past week.
While England’s senior side lost and drew against Brazil and Belgium respectively, their under-21s emphatically put Azerbaijan and Luxembourg to the sword by a combined score of 12-1 in their qualifying games for next year’s European Championship.
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Harvey Elliott ran amok in both clashes, scoring twice in Baku and then setting up two goals in the 7-0 demolition of the latter in Bolton last night.
Taking to X after the Liverpool gem’s latest exploits, Mellor posted: “Incredible football brain this super talented youngster”.
Incredible football brain this super talented youngster 👏👏 https://t.co/1Q22KEimuN
— Neil Mellor (@NeilMellor33) March 27, 2024
The quality of Elliott’s two assists against Luxembourg was sparkling, teeing up Jamie Bynoe-Gittens for England’s third goal after a driving run through the middle, and later picking out Noni Madueke with a sublime through ball.
Even those two contributions were eclipsed somewhat by one moment of jaw-dropping artistry as he scooped the ball up before volleying a rabona pass to the right flank with absurdly consummate ease.
That’s before we get onto the eight key passes that he played in total (Sofascore), an extraordinary tally even when taking into account the paucity of the opposition.
The 20-year-old can’t be doing much more to bring himself to the attention of Gareth Southgate ahead of Euro 2024, and it’s baffling to think that he hasn’t yet won a senior cap when considering his form in recent months.
The England manager is notorious for remaining loyal to players who’ve served him for several years, but even he surely can’t ignore Elliott any longer. You’d like to think that the youngster’s Three Lions debut won’t be too far off, but whether it comes prior to this summer’s tournament is another matter.
Mellor has perfectly captured what many Liverpool fans are thinking about the Reds’ number 19 right now, with his under-21 exploits of recent days showcasing what an enormous talent we have in the attacker.