OPINION
Liverpool winger Harry Wilson is showing the benefits of the loan system again this term, and the progress he’s made at Derby County this season was demonstrated once again for Wales on Tuesday night.
The 5ft 8in Welshman [Source: Transfermarkt] scored the only goal of the game with an unbelievable free kick as Ryan Giggs’s side knocked off the Republic of Ireland 1-0 – and it is not the first time this season that the youngster has been a show stopper for club or country.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will have been delighted by Wilson’s contribution in Dublin, as the 21-year-old showed that he is capable of stepping up in big moments – something that Klopp will be excited about going forward.
The German needs to promote Wilson to a first team role once he returns from Derby next summer. The winger is simply too good a player to be sat on the bench or farmed out on loan; he needs to be a key player for the club next term. If he is then it could give Liverpool an edge in the title picture next campaign.
The Reds may well win the Premier League this season without Wilson, but adding a player like him to the first team picture gives Klopp’s side an added element moving forward.
He is capable of playing in multiple positions, he showed that by lining up as a number 10 behind Tyler Roberts on Tuesday, something which could be vital as the cub continues to challenge for multiple honours.
Primarily he is a winger, though, and both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have struggled to click into top gear in recent weeks. Wilson would be able to relieve either of those men when they are fatigued or underperforming, something that the team doesn’t necessarily have at this moment in time.
His set piece expertise, demonstrated on Tuesday night as well as against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup last month, will surely also come in useful for Liverpool in the coming seasons.
First things first, though, Wilson needs to continue his progress with Frank Lampard’s Derby team, where he has scored twice in nine games this term – but from next year onwards he needs to be handed a key role at Anfield.
