Unai Emery expressed his sympathy for Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott as he described his wasted time at Aston Villa as "embarrassing for everyone involved".

Elliott moved to Villa Park on a season-long loan last summer after falling down the pecking order at Anfield, though his switch has been far from a success.

The 23-year-old has made just nine appearances in all competitions for Villa this season, scoring just one goal, against Brentford in the EFL Cup, while totalling just 277 minutes. 

It is reported that the terms of Elliott's loan would have given Villa the obligation to buy the midfielder for £35m if he had made 10 Premier League appearances, but he has featured just five times in the top-flight. 

Liverpool and Villa had tried to come to an agreement to cancel Elliott's loan in the January transfer window, but neither party could come to a deal to suit both teams. 

"To now explain the reason for this decision is very difficult, or it is easy, but it is not the moment," Emery said.

"My apologies to Harvey Elliott are, every day, in my mind. We have our responsibility, and Liverpool have their responsibility. How the season has gone has been difficult."

Emery's comments come ahead of welcoming Elliott's parent club to Villa Park on Friday, with the winner of that clash set to seal their spot in the Champions League next season. 

Elliott will, of course, be unable to play any part in the contest, though it was confirmed by Liverpool that the midfielder would return to Merseyside for pre-season this summer. 

The midfielder has played 149 times for the Reds in all competitions since joining from Fulham in 2019, scoring 15 goals as well as providing 21 assists. 

He has won six major honours, including two Premier League titles, but during Arne Slot's first season at Anfield, Elliott started just six of his 28 appearances in all competitions. 

Speaking on the situation earlier on Thursday, Slot said: "I think for him, everyone, [the loan] didn't work out as we wanted it.

"Usually, [clubs] sign a player or loan to use him, but that hasn't happened a lot.

"[It's] not for me to answer why that is, but it is never nice [to not play] many minutes. I assume he played more with us last season, and he went there for more time.

"The plan for next season? He is contracted to us, so he will be with us at the start of next season."