‘I was too small’: ‘Outstanding’ Liverpool player says Chelsea actually rejected him as a youngster

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Harvey Elliott could have been a Chelsea player, but he was rejected by the Blues as a youngster.

Speaking on the We Are Liverpool Podcast, Elliott shared the story of how he was rejected by Chelsea as a young player.

The midfielder says that the Blues turned him down because he was too small, stating that they did acknowledge that he was the best player in his age group from a technical level, but his size worked against him.

Elliott rejected by Chelsea

The midfielder spoke about how Chelsea turned him down.

“Am I right in thinking you were rejected by Chelsea as a young kid? What was the reason behind that?” Elliott was asked.

“Quite frankly it was because I was too small. I remember them saying that technically I was one of the best in the group, but I was too small. I don’t think I felt anything like that in my football career so far in terms of how I felt after they said that,” Elliott said.

“Being a young kid knowing you can’t get that opportunity to play or get signed. I thought I was finished and I wasn’t going to have a football career. I respected their decision, I played Sunday League for a bit with my friends and then I went to Fulham after that.”

Short-sighted

There really is no excuse for this from Chelsea.

Yes, size mattered at one point, particularly in English football, but by the time Elliott was coming up, that myth had largely been dispelled.

In the early 2010s we had already had the tiki-take revolution. Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta were arguably three of the four best players on the planet, and they were all smaller than the average footballer.

Chelsea should have been able to see that size was no longer everything in football, and turning down a player like Elliott due to his physique was so short-sighted.

Chelsea’s loss has ultimately proven to be Liverpool’s gain and the Blues will surely be kicking themselves for missing out on the ‘outstanding’ midfielder for years to come.