FeatureWhat we learned from Harvey Elliott on the 'We are Liverpool' podcast

Here's what we learned from the No.19's visit to the AXA Training Centre studio...

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His crazy Carabao Cup final

Elliott certainly left his mark on the 2022 Carabao Cup final – even more impressive when you remember he initially wasn't part of the matchday squad.

A late call-up to the bench due to Thiago Alcantara's injury, the teenager came on in the closing stages of the second half, was involved in a minor squabble in extra-time and then converted a penalty in the shootout victory.

In detail, Elliott describes how he went through the wringer on the day of his first appearance in a major final.

He says: "I was upset, I was annoyed with myself because clearly I didn't do enough to get in the team. I was getting over it a bit. I was like, 'Right, come on. I'll, as I've always done, just support the team as a fan.'

"Thiago got injured in the warm-up and I saw him walking down the tunnel. I was thinking, 'Where's he going?' Just out of worry for him.

"I was still in the stand with the other lads who weren't in the squad. The security guard came running to me and was like, 'Harvey, Harvey, you're needed in the tunnel right now.'

"Instantly, I thought something's happened with my family or something happened back home. And I thought, 'Oh no, this day could go from bad to worse.' That 10 seconds from the walk from the stands to the tunnel was probably the worst of my life, just thinking, 'What's happened? What's going on?'

"Pep [Lijnders] came to me, or Vitor [Matos], and said, 'You're in the squad.' Part of me was relieved but I was annoyed as well because I was like, 'I've got myself worked up so much thinking something else has happened.'

"It just shows how much football can change."

Mo Salah: Bread monitor

Elliott adds some further detail on a well-known tale about the support and advice offered to him by his mentor, Mohamed Salah.

"He's constantly on your case – in a good way – just in a way to show that he cares," Elliott says of the No.11. "We were in Austria and it was breakfast or dinner and I had two bread rolls, like I do with every meal just because it's one of my favourites.

"He came over to me and was like, 'No, no, no. Put them back. Here, have the brown ones.'

"I was thinking, 'Wow, he's scanning what I'm trying to eat or eating and helping me out.' That's just one of about a thousand stories.

"Obviously not all because of him, but [he's] been a big help in where I am today. For me, there's no better person to look up to than Mo."

Revealed: The most dependable Liverpool teammate

If you were to break down on the side of the road with a flat tyre, who'd be the first player you ring?

The answer, in Elliott's mind, is an easy one.

He responds: "I'd say Joe Gomez – just because I don't feel like he'd pie me off.

"He's so much of a nice guy that he would be like, 'OK, I'll come to you. I'm not sure if I can help...' I just feel like he'd probably be 95 per cent sure that he'd be able to come and try to help me out, or at least come.

"Whereas the others would probably just laugh and end the call, and I'd be left alone."

A rejection made him the player he is

In order to go forward, sometimes you need a step back.

Elliott thought his dreams of being a professional footballer were over when he was rejected by Chelsea at youth level.

"Just, quite frankly, because I was too small," he states. "I remember my dad saying to me that technically they said I'm one of the best in the group but I'm just too small.

"I don't think I've felt anything like that in my life or in my football career so far in terms of how I felt after they said that.

"Being such a young kid and knowing you aren't going to get the opportunity to play or be signed, I thought, 'Well, I'm finished. I'm not going to have a football career.' I respected their decision.

"I think I played Saturday and Sunday league for a bit with my friends just to get that enjoyment and passion for football again. Then I went to Fulham after that."

At Fulham, Elliott would go on to shine and make his first-team debut at the age of 15 years and 174 days old, before switching to Liverpool in 2019.