Harvey Elliott scored and missed a penalty in England U21s’ 5-3 defeat to France, with a rumoured Liverpool target bagging a hat-trick.
The 21-year-old’s lack of playing time for Liverpool this season saw him left out of Thomas Tuchel’s first squad as England manager.
Instead, Elliott was in U21s action for the Three Lions on Friday, as they lost 5-3 away to France in an entertaining contest.
The Liverpool midfielder was a prominent figure, scoring in the 37th minute when Lee Carsley’s side were already trailing 3-1.
He could barely miss after ghosting in at the back post, giving England some hope of getting back into the game.
Both sides traded another goal apiece before Elliott unfortunately turned villain, missing a penalty that would have made it 4-4.
The Liverpool youngster’s spot-kick was skied over the crossbar and it proved to be a pivotal moment in the match.
In the end, England were defeated 5-3, and from a Reds perspective, it was interesting to see Hugo Ekitike score a hat-trick for the hosts.
The 22-year-old has been loosely linked with a move to Liverpool, with a host of Premier League clubs reportedly eyeing him up this summer.
Ekitike has flourished at Eintracht Frankfurt since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, scoring 13 goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances this season.
The young striker has also three goals and assists apiece in the Europa League, so it is easy to see why there is interest in him.
It is worth stressing that Liverpool’s rumoured ‘interest’ is far from concrete, though.
But with the Reds searching for a new centre forward, amid doubts over the worth of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez, Ekitike represents an exciting option.
His former manager at Reims, Oscar Garcia, once spoke of his admiration for the young striker, outlining his qualities.
“There is something very special about him,” Garcia said.
“He’s young, and he has the quality to become a very good player. He’s a young man with a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on, but he works hard in training.”
As for Elliott, he may feel he has outgrown England’s U21s by now, looking to kick on and be a fixture in Tuchel’s senior setup moving forward.
Whether he is able to achieve that goal by staying at Liverpool as a squad player is debatable, though.
