Rovers would jump at the chance of a second Ewood Park loan spell for Harvey Elliott – but any interested parties are set for a long wait.

Elliott is determined to prove he can make the step-up to the Liverpool first-team next season after impressing during his 41-game spell at Rovers in which he contributed seven goals and 11 assists.

Liverpool allowed the teenager to leave on deadline day last October, Rovers’ vision for Elliott, and their close links with Jurgen Klopp’s side, allowing them to steal a march on any prospective rivals.

Elliott featured in every match after signing, scoring in the final-day win over Birmingham City, but his immediate aim is to break into the Liverpool first-team, and he is set to be handed opportunities in pre-season with a host of Klopp’s squad away on Euro 2020 duty.

Watford and Brentford are just two others linked with making a move for Elliott should he become available.

There are currently no plans for Elliott to be loaned out for a second successive season, but like in October, those plans could change, but are unlikely to before the end of the Reds' pre-season fixtures.

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Harvey Elliott believes his goal return, and not his age, is the biggest hurdle he will have to overcome in his bid to break into the Liverpool first-team.

A fine finish on the final day took his tally to seven for Rovers during his loan spell, with Tony Mowbray having previously suggested a preference for assists, over goals, for Elliott.

It’s something the 18-year-old is keen to work on, with his creativity numbers among the best in the Championship last term, his seven goals leaving him behind Adam Armstrong and Sam Gallagher in the Rovers top scorer charts.

If he’s to break up the Mo Salah-Sadio Mane-Roberto Firmino partnership at his boyhood club, then Elliott says finding the back of the net more often, and adding some extra speed and physicality to his play, will be the areas of his game to improve on.

But he has made clear that at least enjoying a second successive pre-season with the Reds first-team is his aim for now.

“To be in the team, that’s it, and there’s no blockage in age now. I can’t use that as an excuse, I need to go in there and show people that I can be trusted,” Elliott explained.

“You look at Salah and it’s goals, goals, goals, he’s always thinking about getting into the right positions.

“I need to adapt that into my game, the assists and the passes will come if I’m in the right opportunities and positions, but now it’s working on my goals, my speed, I’m not the quickest but in my head I can use my brain to be one step ahead of everyone else and work on that as well as my strength to be battling with these boys.

“There’s a lot of work I need to do on my game but it’s easily done.”

Liverpool hadn’t intended to initially loan out Elliott last summer, and their plans seem similar this time around.

Rovers may look to use their blossoming relationship with the Reds to make moves for some of their other young players, East Lancashire-born Leighton Clarkson, a central midfielder, just one possibility.

After a settling in season in 2019/20, in which he made his Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup bow for Liverpool, Elliott said he saw the 2020/21 season as one in which he could progress, and feels his move to Rovers has done just that.

And he’s hoping to take the things he learned during his time at Rovers back to Liverpool.

“It’s the club I love and for the first year I was getting my head around what I needed to do to get in the team, and to be involved, to look at the players in my position and work on how to better myself,” he added.

“To be in and around in it in the first year was a dream come true for me and my family and this year was the one where I needed to step back and think what would benefit my career and we all decided as a team, and Liverpool, that it would be better to go on loan and get these vital minutes.

“I think it was very successful with how many games I did play.

“It’s taught me a lot of things that I’ll take into my career and into Liverpool and hopefully I can apply them when I’m called upon.

“I’m going to go back to Liverpool in pre-season and show them what I’ve learned and that I can be in the team.”

His 11 assists were second only to Emi Buendia, the Championship’s player of the year who is set for a £33million move to Aston Villa.

Asked about that, Elliott responded: “When you have the likes of Adam Armstrong up top finishing pretty much every chance he gets, it always helps.”