The bigger challenge facing Elliott is style adaptation and adapting to Villa's tactical system. He is not the first player to find himself in trouble when he first arrives, especially in the midfield position. It took Tielemans three months to adapt to Emery's tactical details. During this period, he even failed to start in the league. Now, those new players who were on the edge when they first joined the team often use Tielemans' experience of overcoming initial difficulties as inspiration.
Elliott has been on the bench in three games recently, and has been on the bench since the end of September. After the Lemm game, he only came on as a substitute for 4 minutes in the Europa League victory over Feyenoord. Elliott's slow adjustment process was largely caused by external factors beyond his control. When he joined, the team was in trouble, the atmosphere was tense and the results on the field were stagnant. Now the situation is completely opposite: since the Fulham game, Villa's form has rebounded significantly and has won five consecutive games. Suddenly, there is fierce competition among Emery's No. 10 players.
Elliot needs some time time to adapt. The attacking midfielder is crucial in Villa's build-up, and since Unai Emery's reign, no team has been more reliant on central attack than Villa, which means they need to master the complex requirements of this position: from how to position themselves to create passing lanes, to whether to speed up or slow down when possession of the ball, these are things Elliott learned the hard way against Sunderland. On the defensive end, the No. 10 player must have excellent tactical literacy and be able to recognize the pressing signals from the forward. This is consistent with Elliott's There is not much difference in the familiar tactical pattern under Lopp.
But Emery’s comment about “passing the ball too fast” is indeed worthy of attention. It was clear that he wanted the attacking midfielder to play a "classical jazz" method rather than the "heavy metal" fast-paced football that Elliott was accustomed to. All parties will obviously be patient with Elliott, but the risk is that the longer he is out, the more doubts will be raised about the decision to sign him, and the possibility of him reaching a permanent transfer will become slimmer.