SO PLEASED I Quitting Kop enabled Wilson
HARRY WILSON believes it was his decision to leave Liverpool that allowed him to finally fill Gareth Bale’s goldstitched boots. Wales will be looking towilson for inspiration on Tuesday, when they face Robert Lewandowski’s Poland for a place at the Euro 2024 finals this summer.
Haz is the new Gaz, according to Wales manager Rob Page, but the Fulham star reckons it would never have happened had he not chosen to kill his boyhood dream by leaving Anfield.
“That move to Fulham was two-and-half years ago now but it was a big one for me,” says Wilson, 27, who moved to Craven Cottage for £12million. “I had been on a lot of loans from Liverpool and although my dream as a young lad was to make it into the first team and play regularly, I knew it wasn’t really going to be the case.
“When I was 18, 19, 20, I was trying to get into the team but they arguably had the best front three in the world.the loans I went on really helped me grow as a player and learn the game.”
Wilson’s pragmatic decision that he was not going to shift Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino as Jurgen Klopp’s holy trinity proved wise. He immediately helped Fulham win promotion to the Premier League in 2022 and he added: “We’ve had one good season and this one’s going well. I feel like it’s really been the perfect move for me and my game has gone up another level.”
Wilson scored bothwales goals in their crucial 2-1 victory over Croatia in qualifying.although he didn’t find the net in the 4-1 play-off semi-final victory over Finland on Thursday, it was Wilson’s shot that led to David Brooks’ opener.
Such heroics used to be the preserve of Bale andwilson adds: “I don’t think anyone was going to replace Gaz but we knew we had to step up because he was leaving such a hole in that team.
“He was our captain, our leader, our best player.to lose his goals and his influence on the team, there was going to be a big gap there.a lot of players are playing really well at the moment.
“As long as I’m contributing to the team with assists and performances, I know there are players around me who have the capability to score goals.”
Poland will have their own talisman at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday in goalmachine Lewandowski.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas and Romelu Lukaku have scored more goals for European nations than his 82 in 146 games for the Poles.
“He’s going to be their biggest threat,” warned Wilson. “If we don’t give him space, we can stop giving him any chances. If we do that, we’re confident with the quality in our dressing room that we can really hurt them.”