Liverpool star Harvey Elliott reveals how Jurgen Klopp made good on his promise to reward him for his small part in ending their 30-year wait to be crowned Premier League champions
- Harvey Elliott made his debut for the Reds during their title-winning campaign
- He celebrated with the players on the pitch following their trophy presentation
- Can Liverpool challenge for the title? Listen to the debate on It’s All Kicking Off
Harvey Elliott has revealed how Jurgen Klopp kept a promise to him when Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions during the 2019-20 season.
The midfielder was just 17-years-old when Jordan Henderson lifted the trophy to end a three decade wait for the Reds to win the title.
Elliott, had only arrived at Anfield the previous summer from Fulham, and made just two Premier League appearances that season – making his league debut as a replacement for Mohamed Salah off the bench in a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.
Premier League rules at the time stated that winners’ medals could only be given to those who made a minimum of five appearances, and though Elliott missed the cut by three games, Klopp delivered on a promise he made a few weeks before they were presented with the trophy.
He told the Liverpool Echo: ‘I am not sure if it was [Klopp’s] medal, it could have been his but I got one at the end of the day, I walked into the changing room after the parade and the presentations and they gave it to me then.
Harvey Elliott played a small part during Liverpool’s first Premier League title win in 2019-20
Elliott has revealed that Jurgen Klopp made good on a promise for the youngster to receive a medal from their title win – despite making just two appearances in the league that season
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‘I mean I can’t really describe how I felt I was just over the moon and sending pictures to my mum and dad [saying]: ‘I’ve got a medal! I’ve got a medal!’ And they were in the ground as well, so I was able to go up and show them and have a bit of a celebration with them. It was just, you know, a great feeling.’
Liverpool’s trophy presentation in 2020 came amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with Reds players receiving their medals and lifting the trophy in the Kop stand – where their fans otherwise would have been enjoying the momentous moment.
Elliott was introduced on stage for the trophy lift and shook Kenny Dalglish’s hand, but the Liverpool legend couldn’t hand the youngster a medal due to Premier League rules.
He was pictured with fellow Liverpool youngsters Curtis Jones and Neco Williams (now at Nottingham Forest) with the Premier League trophy, though both of those players made six appearances and were given a medal on stage.
The midfielder, now 20, did receive his medal and speaking on his first year at the Reds, said: ‘The season on the whole was great, you know with what we won and to be around it. It just gave me that taste of wanting more of it. It was unfortunate we couldn’t celebrate with the fans but we had the opportunity with the Carabao Cup and FA Cup as well and for me it was just, as I said, I just wanted to keep getting tasters of.
‘I just wanted to keep going back to these moments and keep creating history with Liverpool and personally it is a goal of mine to win as much as we can and hopefully this time we can celebrate with the fans.’
Elliott celebrated on pitch with fellow youngsters Curtis Jones (centre) and Neco Williams (right) who both only just qualified to receive a medal by making six appearances each
Elliott made his Premier League debut against Sheffield United in January 2020 – replacing Mo Salah
After their title winning season, Elliott joined Blackburn Rovers on loan for 2020-21 where he impressed – finishing behind Michael Olise as the Championship’s Young Player of the Year after scoring seven goals and registering 11 assists.
Elliott has now made 80 appearances for Liverpool, 14 of which have come in the opening months of this season.
Premier League rules now state the champions are given 40 medals which can be distributed to the manager, players and officials as the club see fit – as long as every player who has made at least five appearances during the season gets one.
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