Harry Wilson and Sheyi Ojo have spent the campaign on loan together at Cardiff, but the Liverpool duo are unlikely to stay next season with their parent club in control.
As the season nears its end, neither Wilson or Ojo are first-choice starters under Mick McCarthy, despite both producing regularly in front of goal.
The pair have directly contributed to 27 goals for the Bluebirds, with only Norwich‘s Emi Buendia (16) laying on more assists in the Championship than Wilson’s 11.
Neither are expected to return to Liverpool and be part of Jurgen Klopp‘s first-team squad, as at 23 and 24 respectively, Ojo and Wilson seem to have missed the boat.
Their priority, therefore, will be to find a new permanent home, but McCarthy doubts that will be at Cardiff due to their contract situation at Anfield, with the Reds likely to price them out of a move.
“Both Harry and Sheyi have got a year left and a year’s option apparently,” he explained last week.
“Harry has been at about four clubs and he wants a home somewhere, he wants to play permanently somewhere, and so does Sheyi.
“Loaning them out next year they’d be in the last year of their contract. Liverpool are going to have to sort themselves out – that’s nothing to do with us.
“Would I have them back? Yeah, of course, they’re really good players. But I don’t think it will happen.”
As McCarthy has revealed, while both Ojo and Wilson will enter the final year of their existing deals with Liverpool this summer, the club would retain command over any negotiations as they can extend these by a further year.
That is likely to happen as the Reds look to maximise the value of two players who, despite falling out of favour in recent weeks, have proved themselves reliable options in the Championship.
According to WalesOnline, Wilson told Welsh outlet Sgorio that to “further his career” he would be prepared to severe ties with Liverpool this summer.
“I feel my senior career has been elsewhere so far. [I am] 150, 200 appearances deep now and only a couple have been at Liverpool,” the winger said.
“The club will always be close to my heart, but if it means moving away to further my career then so be it.”
It has been suggested that Liverpool could seek a fee of up to £15 million for Wilson, but that is dubious given the financial impact of the pandemic, and the club may be forced to accept cut-price deals for the pair.
McCarthy is right, however, in his assertion that Liverpool must “sort themselves out,” as it is arguably detrimental to the players’ careers to stay on the books with no pathway to the senior squad.
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