Pep Lijnders played a role in Harvey Elliott’s development before the teen even joined Liverpool

Pep Lijnders played a role in Harvey Elliott’s development before the teen even joined Liverpool

Liverpool Echo Sports·2021-08-26 10:00

Pep Lijnders and Harvey Elliott are well acquainted by now. The Liverpool assistant manager has had the chance to run the rule over the 18-year-old in pre-season, and will no doubt be delighted with what he has seen. The extent to which the coaching staff have been impressed was made crystal clear when Jürgen Klopp handed Elliott his first Premier League start last weekend against Burnley. However, it has recently emerged that Lijnders and the young prodigy go much further back with the Dutch coach inadvertently playing a significant role in Elliotts initial breakthrough. In an interview with BT Sport and The Athletic, Elliott was reunited with his former Fulham youth coach Dan Thomas, who described the first time he ever saw the youngster play: It was actually a practice Id stolen off Pep Lijnders. Id seen him in a conference for the Welsh FA and hed shared some of the practices and I thought oh, thats a good one, Ill try that.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesThe drill, which involved a tight possession scenario, saw a then-12-year-old Elliott placed in the middle of a circle. At the time, he was still on trial at Fulham, so impressing was imperative. The exercise constructed by Lijnders certainly brought out the best in him:He was brilliant, he was just flicking things round the corner playing off one touch. I think you can see quite quickly in that type of training session. [His] ability was excellent on that day, and helped [him] get signed, I think.Such is Elliotts quality, it seems a safe bet that he would have managed to impress Thomas and the rest of the Fulham staff regardless of the drill. Nonetheless, there is no shortage of talented 12-year-olds; there is a fair amount of randomness in being able to impress enough on trial to earn a place in the youth set-up, and it is a fun coincidence that Lijnders drill is what allowed him to shine.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesAccording to Elliott, much the same drills still take place at Liverpool: its little wonder hes been able to settle in so quickly, having been acquainted with some of Lijnders training methods since before he was even a teenager. However, one element of his game arguably still lacking is pace it may be part of the reason why his first league start came in midfield, not on the wings. Elliott revealed that he has worked with a speed coach to try and improve this aspect of how he performs:Even to this day Im sort of not the quickest, as I want to be and as I can be. And obviously throughout the years I was not the biggest but I think I, and my dad especially, just tried to work on things that would help me get further in my career. Still to this day Im practicing sprint training, trying to make myself better and trying to give me that few extra yards that could potentially help me in the game.As Thomas pointed out, the very fact that Elliott has taken it upon himself to put in the extra work is a good indication of how he has made it to the top. The natural talent combined with the drive to improve is a recipe for success at the very pinnacle of the game, and there is no reason why he cannot reach it provided he continues to apply himself.With Pep Lijnders around, Elliott is in safe hands.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articles

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