Harvey Elliott will be denied a return to Anfield this weekend as he is ineligible to face his parent club - but the out-of-favour Aston Villa star's Liverpool days are not completely over due to a clause in his contract.
The 22-year-old signed for Unai Emery's men on Deadline Day on loan with an obligation to buy - but Mail Sport can reveal that commitment is only active once Elliott has played a certain number of games.
It means Elliott could, in theory, return to Liverpool and the Premier League champions not cash in on the £35million fee they had agreed with Villa in the summer.