HARRY IS FUL OF HOPE
Haz can be new Gaz for Wales as he comes of age away from the Pool
The loans I went on when younger really helped me grow as a player and learn game HARRY WILSON ON HIS DEVELOPMENT
HARRY WILSON believes his decision to leave Liverpool has led to him filling Gareth Bale’s gold-stitched boots.
Wilson will be the man Wales look to for matchwinning inspiration on Tuesday night 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,” said 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 Liverpool first team and play regularly, I knew that 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.
“So 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 Sala, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino as Jurgen Klopp’s holy trinity proved to be a wise one.
He immediately helped Fulham win promotion to the Premier League in 2022 and he added: “We’ve had one good season (in the top flight) and this one’s going well although there are a few games left.
“I feel like it’s really been the perfect move for me and my game has gone up another level.” With Bale retired, it was Wilson who scored both Wales’ goals in their crucial 2-1 victory over Croatia in Euro 2024 qualifying.
Although he didn’t find the net in the 4-1 play-off semifinal victory over Finland on Thursday, it was Wilson’s shot that paved the way for David Brooks to score the opener.
That kind of scruff-of-theneck yanking used to be the preserve of Bale and Wilson adds: “I don’t think anyone was going to replace Gaz but we knew when he left 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.
“It’s not just me. A lot of players are doing 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, of course, in the familiar shape of goalmachine Lewandowski.
The odds suggest the now 35- year- old will score at least once, since he boasts a remarkable international tally of 82 goals for the Poles in 146 matches.
“His hunger to score goals is the biggest thing,” added Wilson. “Everywhere he has been in his career he has scored, for club and country.
“He’s going to be their biggest threat. He might not be getting younger but if we give him half a sniff at goal he’s going to take it.”