Harvey Elliott believes his loan at Blackburn Rovers was crucial in his development for Liverpool.

Elliott joined Rovers on a season-long loan in 2020/21, flourishing under the guidance of Tony Mowbray despite being only 17. At that age, it would be quite easy to sink in the Championship despite his obvious talent.

Elliott finished as runner-up to Michael Olise as the Championship's Young Player of the Year after seven goals and 11 assists across his 41 appearances. Rovers ended that season 15th in the table despite Adam Armstrong hitting 28 goals.

Reflecting on his time at Ewood Park, he remains grateful to the club for their support and trust. He feels that the relentless nature of the Championship helped to prepare him for a life in senior football.

"I felt like it kind of set me up in my football career," Elliott told the Liverpool ECHO. "It got me adapted quickly to the men's game, especially with the Championship. Some teams are out there to hurt because everyone wants to get promoted and no-one wants to get relegated either and it was a great place to learn.

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"Blackburn, you know, I walked straight through the doors and they put their arms around me and gave me confidence. The fans were there to help out and I am very grateful for Tony Mowbray and his coaching staff for believing in me because it was a big risk.

"I was 17 and they weren't really sure how it would turn out. Hopefully for them it was good but for me, from a personal point of view, to play the amount of games I did to get myself used to men's football was great."

Elliott has since established himself in Jurgen Klopp's first team and remains an important part of the England Under-21s though he has not yet received a senior call-up. The midfielder made 32 Premier League appearances last season and has featured a further nine times this year.