Harry Wilson has impressed on loan again this season with Bournemouth and knows it’s time to make or break his Liverpool career in the summer.
The Welshman has been a productive goal threat for the Cherries this term, scoring seven times in the Premier League.
Even so, he hasn’t always been a 90-minute performer as there remain question marks on whether he offers enough in general play—particularly important for a team struggling against relegation at present.
He was, of course, ineligible to feature against the Reds at the weekend due to loan rules, but in the summer he’s slated for a return to Anfield. At that point, he and Jurgen Klopp will need to decide on his future; Wilson turns 23 later this month and further loan spells are no longer worthwhile.
It’s time to become a regular for the Reds, or find a new career path—and Wilson acknowledges that after Euro 2020, he’ll have a critical choice to make.
“I feel I’ve got that decision to make in the summer,” he told BT Sport.
“I feel the last two years of loans have been good, this one has been positive as well.
“I’m finally in the Premier League which is what I’ve worked towards.
“In the summer I’ll be concentrating on Wales but once that’s done I may have a decision to make.”
It hasn’t all been plain sailing for Wilson, despite his rise in headlines over the last 18 months or so.
An earlier loan spell didn’t work out and, like many others before him, Wilson found the step-up from youth action to seniors a massive jump.
While also discussing the “eye-opener” aspects of lower league football including washing his own kit, Wilson noted that a spell back with the youth side helped him kickstart a career which, however briefly, had somewhat stalled.
“I’ve always had belief in myself. The loans I’ve been on…I had my first one at Crewe at 18, I’d scored all these goals in the youth teams for Liverpool and thought it’d be the same in League One and I found out quickly it wasn’t.
“It took me to come back, captain the U23s to really get my confidence back. I went to Melwood full time but never getting in the squads.
“I went on loan to Hull and that’s where I felt my career really started, maybe a bit later than I wanted after just turning 20 but now I’ve got over 100 appearances and I’m in the Premier League where I’ve always wanted to be.”
Having impressed with Hull, Derby and now Bournemouth, the question is over whether Wilson is ready to step up yet another level.
As a wide forward, the obvious player he’ll be up against for a spot is Xherdan Shaqiri—who has barely featured this term due to injury and who many expect to depart Liverpool this coming summer.
Takumi Minamino‘s arrival is another factor to consider, as the Japanese international will surely play a bigger role next term, while Klopp’s opinion of how he fits in is likely to be the biggest impact on Wilson’s decision.
While fans have long hoped to see the Academy graduate make the grade, not too many have yet completed long-term loans and then come back to star for Klopp’s team.
Marko Grujic faces a similar dilemma, while others such as Trent Alexander-Arnold and, this season, Neco Williams and Curtis Jones have gone straight from youth team involvement to being involved with Klopp’s squad.
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