Harvey Elliott has been featuring in short cameos for Valencia since making his loan switch from Liverpool in the summer, as he faces a battle to get into the team

Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott is facing a battle to get himself into the Valencia team this season, with the attacking playmaker being reduced to minutes from the substitutes' bench.

It comes as the midfielder looks to rebuild his career following a difficult year or so, after he had expected to leave the Reds permanently.

The 23-year-old had made the loan switch to Aston Villa last summer, which included a permanent deal option that would be triggered after ten starts in the Premier League.

Ultimately, Unai Emery quickly decided against signing Elliott, leaving him in limbo for the rest of the season. His surprise return to Liverpool allowed him to work his way into Andoni Iraola's plans, but he was unable to capitalize on a chance during preseason.

That led to an exit late in the summer transfer window, with another loan secured, this time to Spanish club Valencia for the campaign, without a permanent option this time.

Elliott walked into a club in trouble, however, as his new team sat in the relegation zone after a few games, prompting protests from the fanbase.

After the firing of manager Carlos Corberan and the appointment of Javier Aguirre as the new head coach, the Liverpool star has had to work his way into the coach's plans.

The playmaker has yet to do that, though, as he started on the bench and was given a short cameo in a 0-0 draw with Athletic Club. In light of that match, the Spanish media have been reacting to individual player performances, with all of them noting the lack of impact from Elliott so far.

Eldesmarque gave the performance a 5 out of 10 and said, "Nothing remarkable, although he was involved." Similarly, Superdeporte handed out the same rating and claimed, "He's made a few key contributions, he's better than when he arrived, but relying on a signing to start playing well when November is just around the corner is strange."

That theme continued with Nostresport giving out another five rating, and saying: "He was largely invisible during his time on the field. However, he had moments where he demonstrated his considerable talent, but much more consistency is expected in his play."

It certainly suggests some green shoots of hope, with notes of improvement, but without making the key difference that was expected.

That means Elliott may have to wait longer for his moment to shine under the new head coach, with Valencia still sitting in the bottom three of the division.

It remains to be seen whether the Spanish outfit can dig itself out of that position, and just how involved Elliott may be in that process over the coming weeks and months.