Aston Villa coach Unai Emery said Harvey Elliott's lack of involvement for the club during his loan spell from Liverpool has been "embarrassing for everyone involved."
The midfielder has made just four Premier League appearances since joining Villa on a season-long loan from their Premier League rivals.
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The 23-year-old would become a permanent Villa player, in the process activating a £35 million ($47m) transfer fee, if he appears in 10 Premier League fixtures for the club.
Emery, speaking at a news conference to preview Friday's clash with Liverpool, said: "It is something embarrassing for everyone involved in it. My apologies for Harvey Elliott are every day in my mind.
"But it is the responsibility. We have our responsibility and Liverpool have their responsibility.
"As a human and as a person, how the season has gone has been difficult."
Speaking at his own news conference on Friday, Liverpool coach Arne Slot said Elliott would return to the club ahead of next season.
"He's contracted to us so he will be with us in the start of the season," Slot said.
Elliott made just two Premier League starts for Liverpool last campaign before being named player of the tournament as he helped England win the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the summer of 2025.
"I think for him, for everyone, it didn't work out as he wanted it, as we wanted it and probably also how Villa wanted it, because you usually sign a player or bring him in on loan to use him," Slot added.
"That hasn't happened a lot. That's not for me to answer why that is. But of course, it's never nice for a player not to make so many minutes, especially after the season he had with us, where he made -- I assume -- even more minutes with us than these 280.
"He went over there to get more playing time, but unfortunately that didn't happen. And for such a talented player that did so well in the U21 Euros, you want a player like that to get more and more playing time.
"He went to a very, very good team as well, where they also have a lot of good players. I don't know why he hasn't made the minutes he was expecting. That's not for me to answer.
"But it's always a pity if a player hardly plays for two years, let alone a player of that age that has shown during the Euros that he's such a good player."
PA contributed to this report.
