Harvey Elliott is working hard to right the wrongs of his first few months at Valencia as another loan away from Liverpool threatens to become a 'significant disappointment' due to concerns over his form, fitness and discipline.

The English midfielder is on loan at the Estadio Mestalla after a rotten year at Aston Villa but he has struggled for game time under two different managers, making just six substitute appearances so far.

And last weekend he suffered the ignominy of being sent off just 19 minutes after coming off the bench at home to Villarreal, who then scored a 90th-minute winner seconds later to leave Valencia second-bottom after 10 games.

Liverpool staff are in constant contact with all their loanees and their clubs to check on players' progress and the last word back from Valencia was that Elliott, 23, is putting in quality work off the pitch to improve physically.

But as Julian Burgos, a Valencia expert, tells Liverpool Confidential: ‘At the moment, I don’t think he has adapted… he has been a significant disappointment, especially considering he arrived with the pedigree of coming from Liverpool.

‘It is true that he has been putting in the work over the last few weeks, and he appears to be in better physical shape.

‘Honestly, if the option to terminate the loan arises, Valencia will likely pursue it. With a new sporting director and manager – compounded by the team’s poor form – it seems they will look to undo many of the moves made by the previous sporting director, the Scotsman Ron Gourlay.'

Valencia sacked their previous coach, Carlos Corberan, in mid-September after they picked up just one point in their opening five matches of the season.  

‘They need to free up space within the salary cap to make changes to the squad,' Burgos adds, 'so they will likely take any opportunity to cut ties with players brought in under the previous regime.’

Last year, the midfielder was stuck at Aston Villa. Clearly not fancied by their manager Unai Emery, the club prevented him from playing the 10 games that would have meant the deal becoming permanent for £35million, which seemed a foregone conclusion when he joined. 

As Elliott featured for Liverpool at the start of last season – a five-minute cameo off the bench in their second game of the campaign – he could not head out on another loan because of a FIFA ruling that states players can only represent two clubs on the pitch in one season.  

There is no option or obligation to make his deal permanent at Valencia, whose new manager is Javier Aguirre, whom England fans may remember for his touchline antics with Mexico at the World Cup. Aguirre will give Elliott time to turn his fortunes around. There is an understanding he needed to build fitness after barely playing last year. 

The club have appealed last week's red card – for two yellows – and Elliott is said to have apologised to team-mates.

…but it’s not all worrying news in Valencia!

Now let’s head across the city to fellow La Liga club Levante, where one Liverpool loanee is thriving.

Centre back Ifeanyi Ndukwe has been touted as having the potential to be ‘one of the best in the world in his position’.

Burgos adds: ‘Since his debut against Sevilla four matches ago, he has established himself as a starter for the manager Luis Castro, who asserted that he possesses the qualities to become one of the best players in the world in his position.

‘Against Sevilla, he recovered from an early mistake to score the equalising goal in stoppage time, and he has been a fixture in the side ever since. At 18, he has an impressive physique, remarkable coordination for his height, and the makings of a great footballer – both for the present and, even more so, for the future.’

Ndukwe could not stay at Liverpool this season due to a work permit issue. Apparently he now has the required points to return to Anfield and a recall clause is included in the deal.

But it might be better to keep Ndukwe there, where he is playing every week, and bleed him into the first-team squad next year.

Is it £47m or bust for ‘Big Ron’?

The story of the week at Liverpool has been Ronald Araujo after his man-of-the-match performance against Brighton. The Uruguayan’s status as a cult hero continues to grow and grow.

But are fans naive to fall in love with a loan player? Will Liverpool make the temporary move permanent? And can they do it for less than the clause of £47m?

Last week, I said I’d answer fans’ questions every week in this column and the answers to the Araujo inquiries are…

Absolutely, fans are right to fall in love with him! Liverpool are open to making the move permanent if this form continues, for sure – otherwise why would they insert the option to do so in the deal? People may point to the fact Liverpool would not usually sign a 28-year-old (Araujo turns 28 in March) but look at Virgil van Dijk, still going strong at 35.

And yes, they will be able to negotiate the fee down from the pre-agreed figure with Barcelona.

Debate about Trent rockets

Lots of talk about Trent Alexander-Arnold this week given he has fallen out of favour with new Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho. It has led many to debate whether Liverpool should re-sign him but Confidential is told Alexander-Arnold remains happy in the Spanish capital.

Regardless, would it be a wise move? Financially, no. Does the team lack his creativity from right back? Yes. Would the fans welcome him back with open arms? No… but stranger things have happened.

Nothing in it right now though!

Quiet away end

Fans of French club Lens have been banned from buying tickets for their team’s Champions League trip to Anfield.

Lens, who finished second in Ligue 1 last year under now Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage, come to Liverpool in the new year. But they will do so – as it stands – without supporters after UEFA banned them from selling away tickets following events in Belgium last week.

In Lens' loss at Bruges, fans were punished for lighting and throwing pyrotechnics – which injured disabled supporters.

The club banned its own fans from buying tickets for this week’s trip to rivals Lille and said in a statement: ‘This situation goes far beyond the realm of the displays that sometimes accompany popular expression in the stands. A red line has been crossed. This line was not implicit.’

Anfield also had an empty away end last year when Galatasaray came to town in the last 16, a match which the Reds won 4-0.

Big Mama’s best night… no thanks to dud water bottle

An important night for Giorgi Mamardashvili against Chelsea on Wednesday.

The big Georgian has had mixed reviews since his arrival from Valencia, with some indifferent performances.

But this was perhaps his best performance yet – not just for his fine penalty save, but some other notable stops as both he and Mike Penders kept the scores level.

Liverpool’s No 2 can poke fun, though, at whoever provided the notes for his water bottle ahead of the shootout. None of the instructions were correct and Mamardashvili was left diving the wrong way several times.

The week ahead… will Szoboszlai be fit?

Sunday’s clash with Arsenal is the biggest game so far in the Andoni Iraola era for one reason: it sets the tone for the rest of the season. Lose and Liverpool are nine points behind the champions. Win, though, and it’s only three – with confidence they can beat anyone.

Will Liverpool get some players back? 

Dominik Szoboszlai is pushing to return but here is a question for you to ponder to finish this week’s column: does last year’s player of the year get back in Iraola’s best XI?