Harvey Elliott was studying for his GCSEs when he made his professional debut. His specialist subject was making history.
Elliott was 15 years and 174 days old when he dashed from Surrey’s Coombe Boys’ School to become the League Cup’s youngest debutant and Fulham’s youngest ever first team player in a tie at Millwall’s Den.
“Harvey was still in his school uniform when he reported for the first team squad,” recalls Huw Jennings, Fulham’s Head of Football Development. “He came on as a substitute, showed he belonged on that stage, and was back in school the following morning. It was no gimmick picking him. He was ready.”
That was clear before that record-breaking appearance on 25 September 2018. After Fulham sold Ryan Sessegnon to Tottenham Hotspur the previous summer, their Under-18 coach Steve Wrigley advised then manager Slavisa Jokanovic that Ellott was next off the production line, the youngster had made a habit of thriving in senior company.
“Slav took Harvey to a first team training camp in Alicante,” says Jennings, who was Fulham’s academy director at that time. “The senior players were purring. Harvey has never thought of age as a barrier. He was playing for the Under 18s as an Under-15 player. He played Under 16s as a 13 year old. You know a player has great potential when they step up an age group and they are still the best player. What you can never be sure of is the transition into men’s football. What always stood out with Harvey is his self-belief and confidence in his ability and decision-making and skills.”
If there is a theme to the Liverpool midfielder’s rise, it is Elliott making haste and becoming accustomed to making potentially career-defining decisions.
The first was aged 10 when, having opted to join Queen’s Park Rangers despite pre-Academy training at Fulham, he made the reverse journey, rethinking after an under-11s fixture at Craven Cottage.
“We were well aware of Harvey as an emerging talent in West London,” says Jennings. “We played QPR in an end of season festival and Harvey’s ability was self-evident. His family made contact and said Harvey wanted to come to us. He quickly established himself.”
After rapid progress through the tiers until his record-breaking debut, another welcome dilemma loomed shortly after his 16th birthday. England Under-17s coach Steve Cooper had recently promoted Elliot ahead of the upcoming European championships. Scott Parker, who had by now replaced Jokanovic as Fulham manager, proposed an alternative plan, telling Elliott that by shelving international ambitions he could become the Premier League’s youngest player.
“Tough choice, eh?” says Cooper. “There are not many 16-year-olds who get that kind of win-win situation. I had picked him in the squad a year early, which we didn’t tend to do, and he did really well. His talent was obvious and he fit the profile of player we were looking for. We had more traditional wingers like Morgan Rogers and Alex Mighten, but Harvey liked to drift inside from the right onto his left foot, and was doing a lot of what you are now seeing for Liverpool – clever and disguised passes. He likes those little combinations. What you see now, he has always been that type of player; creative, always seeing things quickly, very good technically, good numbers creating and scoring.”
Elliott opted to stay at Craven Cottage and Parker kept his promise by introducing him in the 88th minute of Fulham’s 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on May 4. He was 16 years and 30 days old.
Amid the buzz, the shadow of Anfield loomed with Elliott’s Premier League debut prompting an instant Liverpool response. Elliott’s stepfather Scott is a passionate Liverpool supporter and Harvey openly spoke to Fulham coaches about his dream of playing in front of The Kop.
Because he had not yet signed his first professional contract at Craven Cottage, the Merseysiders’ could recruit him in June 2019 and let the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) determine how much they should pay later.
“Given he was a boyhood fan it was not a surprise to us when Harvey said he wanted to join Liverpool,” says Jennings. “Obviously we wanted him to stay and believed it was right for him to stay because Scott was committed to giving him senior games.”
Last February, the PFCC determined Liverpool would pay an initial £1.8 million, with a further £2.8 million based on performances. Although it seems paltry for a prodigious player, Fulham were satisfied with the judgement.
“The fee is the highest ever for a school age player,” says Jennings. “It’s a delicate balance for the Premier League and governing to make sure the compensation is appropriately set.
“At one level you accept that a player of that age should not have a bounty on their head. The protection of young people is paramount. On another level if we are to continue to do critical work in the golden years of development, you must be suitably compensated. There is a danger that if players leave without such compensation, clubs will ask ‘why should we be doing this?’ There is a huge investment in our academies and naturally we want to keep Fulham’s best talent at Fulham.
“The football pyramid will always determine the level of the players and Harvey has gone to a huge club in world football. It is always a challenge knowing when it is the right time for a player to move on. We take a lot of pride in the role we took in supporting him. Harvey’s stepdad has articulated his gratitude for that. If he goes on to do well for Liverpool and play for England, the work at Fulham will have benefited him.”
Significantly, Elliott was not signed by Liverpool’s academy scouts, but on the direct recommendation of Sporting Director Michael Edwards. By May 2019, Edwards had ordered video summaries and due diligence on Elliott’s character – all delivering glowing testimony to manager Jurgen Klopp.
“It is a no brainer,” was the recruitment team’s summing up, confirmation following Elliott and his stepfather’s Melwood ‘interview’, where they were told – so long as he trained to his potential – first team opportunities would materialise.
At 16, Elliott added to his feats by becoming the youngest Liverpool player to start a senior match, and the youngest to play at Anfield.
Last season’s 41 appearances for Blackburn Rovers were another critical step. Blackburn’s Tony Mowbray was trusted by Liverpool loan manager Julian Ward as the ideal, progressive coach. Ward proposed Mowbray could do for Elliott what he did for James Maddison during his time at Coventry. He had similarly unlocked the potential in a previous Liverpool loanee, Ryan Kent.
“We would have liked him at Swansea, that’s for sure,” says Cooper, who left the Welsh club over the summer. “He played against us and I thought he was excellent for Blackburn last year. There would not have been many players born in 2003 who played that many championship games last season. He thrived.”
Amid the clamour for a new midfield signing after Gini Wijnaldum’s exit, Klopp now argued he had one ready-made. After all that history, a first Premier League start against Burnley was a glimpse into Elliott’s future. The 18-year-old keeping his place against Chelsea two weeks ago was a statement about the here and now.
“I have seen many talented 18 year olds who can achieve greatness,” says Jennings. “If he stays fit, there is no reason why Harvey can’t be one of those.”