Gary McAllister Calls for Liverpool to Sign Harry Wilson on a Free
Gary McAllister knows what it means to arrive at Anfield on a free and change the course of a season. Now he believes Liverpool have the chance to repeat that trick with a familiar face.
The former Reds midfielder has called on his old club to move for Harry Wilson, who is set to leave Fulham at the end of the month after failing to agree a new deal following five years at Craven Cottage.
Wilson, 29, will walk away having made 187 appearances for Fulham, scoring 36 goals and supplying 46 assists. Solid numbers. Premier League numbers. The kind that ensure you are never short of suitors.
Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton have all been strongly linked with the Wales international, but McAllister is adamant Liverpool should be in that queue as they reshape their forward line after Mohamed Salah’s departure and with Hugo Ekitike sidelined by a long-term injury.
“He’s a really interesting one,” said McAllister, speaking to Grosvenor Casino. “He’s been coached in the Liverpool way, and he always caught the eye when you were around Anfield.”
Wilson is hardly an unknown on Merseyside. He grew up in Liverpool’s Academy, one of the standout prospects of his age group, but his senior career at Anfield never truly started. Just two first-team appearances, separated by a carousel of loan spells at Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Derby County, Bournemouth and Cardiff City, before an initial temporary move to Fulham turned permanent.
McAllister remembers the teenager long before the loans, long before the World Cup caps.
“When I was doing bits and bobs for the club, you’d hear about the young players coming through, and he was one of the standouts,” he said. “I watched Harry from a very young age, and the performances you’ve seen at Fulham are very similar to what I saw when he was playing for the youth team at Liverpool.”
The profile is clear. A left-footed right winger, comfortable drifting inside, with a sharp delivery and a knack for timing his runs. At Fulham, that promise has hardened into reliability. Wilson has become a key figure in a side that has more than held its own in the top flight.
“With his passing range, his ability to get a goal, and his work-rate, he’s becoming a very complete player,” McAllister said. “So, it’s no surprise there’s interest, as he’s up at the end of the season, and I’m sure there will be a lot of takers. Liverpool should be one of them.”
This is not just nostalgia talking. Wilson is now a 69-cap international for Wales, a mainstay for his country and ever-present across their three matches at the last World Cup. He has carried that experience back into the Premier League, where his output and intensity have steadily climbed.
For McAllister, the debate over whether Wilson belongs at the top end of the division is over.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, Harry is a top-end Premier League player now,” he said. “He has been on the international stage for his country as well, and he’s been fantastic there. I’m really pleased for him because he’s a very hard worker.”
Liverpool stand at a crossroads in attack. Salah’s goals and gravity have gone. Ekitike, signed to be part of the next wave, is out for the long haul. The club will spend, but value still matters in a squad that needs depth as much as stardust.
A free transfer who knows the club, knows the league, and is in his prime? McAllister once wore that label and left with a UEFA Cup and FA Cup in his luggage.
Now the question hangs over Anfield: will Harry Wilson be the next free to come home and make a difference, or will Liverpool watch one of their own light up a rival’s right flank instead?
