Harvey Elliott kicked off a pivotal summer with the first goal of England’s defence of the U21 European Championship, in a statement victory on Thursday.
Elliott may have already played his last game for Liverpool, but any resolution over his future is not likely to come until later in the summer.
That comes with the midfielder on duty at the U21s Euros with England, with Lee Carsley’s side defending the trophy they won in 2023.
Thursday saw the tournament begin and England take on Czechia in their first game of Group B, with Elliott starting on the right wing and Jarell Quansah in defence.
It was Elliott who opened the scoring in Dunajska Streda, firing in low with his left foot after Tino Livramento’s cross deflected across the face of goal and back out.
Lukas Hornicek’s calamitous error gave England their second just after half-time before Czechia grabbed one back through Daniel Fila, only for Charlie Cresswell to then seal a 3-1 victory.
Both Elliott and Quansah played the full 90 minutes while Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton came off the bench for the impressive Elliot Anderson late on.
Per FotMob, Elliott created the second-most chances of any England player (two), while Quansah won the joint-most duels (five).
England are now second in Group B with Germany above them on goal difference after a 3-0 victory over Slovenia elsewhere on Thursday.
Slovenia are next up for the Young Lions on Sunday evening, with it possible that Carsley rotates his side for that 5pm kickoff knowing he will need fresh legs for a potential group decider against Germany on Wednesday night.
Elliott, Quansah and Morton are the only Liverpool players at the tournament, with Stefan Bajcetic having been ruled out for Spain after undergoing hamstring surgery.
Liverpool are expected to value Elliott at upwards of £40 million as he attracts interest in the summer market, having again discussed his chances of a move while at the England U21s camp.
“I think it’s a situation that me and the team on my behalf have to have a conversation about,” he told Hayters last week.
“I’m coming into an age now where I’m 22, I’m gonna be 23 next season, and I don’t really want to be wasting years in my career because it’s a short career, you don’t know what’s gonna happen.
“Injuries and things could shorten it. So I think it’s a situation that, as I’ve said before, I need to reflect, I need to see if I’m content in doing what I’m doing and how can I improve as a player.
“That’s the most important thing, that’s the main thing really, I just want to improve and be the best possible version of myself and the best player I can be.
“And if that’s to go somewhere else then it’s a decision that I’m going to have to make, I just need to see what happens.”
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