Harry Wilson on successful Hull City loan and catching Klopp's eye
Harry Wilson is hoping his eye-catching displays in the Championship on loan at Hull City will have caught Jürgen Klopp's eye and edge him nearer to his Liverpool first team dream.
Since departing for a temporary move in January, the 21-year-old has been in fine form netting seven goals in 13 appearances to help Nigel Adkins’ side avoid any fears of relegation.
He also made his first start for Wales under new boss Ryan Giggs and netted a maiden goal for his country in China.
As Hull City prepare for their final outing of the season at Brentford on Sunday, the Wales international admits his loan couldn’t have gone any better.
In a chat with Goal.com, Wilson said: “It’s gone brilliantly. It was something I wanted to do, something I needed to do, and I am glad I did it. I couldn’t have asked for much more really.”
Despite an injury hit start to 2017-18 which meant missing the whole of the pre-season, Wilson returned to action with the U23s and was in fine form netting a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.
He revealed a chat with Klopp convinced him it was the right time to experience some senior football at a higher level.
He added: “I had a sit down with the manager at the beginning of January.
“I told him I felt I was ready for senior football, but with the first-team doing so well, with Salah and Mane scoring and assisting for fun, I knew it was going to be difficult for me to get in.
“I wanted to prove to a few people that I was able to do it in men’s football. The manager told me he likes me as a player and I was involved in the training group at Melwood, but I wanted to go out and get some games.
“I felt I was ready and the manager agreed. He’s great like that, whenever you talk to him he listens and gives you good advice. I felt comfortable speaking to him, which is important for a young player.”
For the recent Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, the Liverpool squad included a chance on the bench for Academy youngsters Conor Masterson, Curtis Jones, and Rafael Camacho.
Looking from afar, Wilson was left to ponder if he might have got the call had he stayed, but he insists he has no regrets about going on loan.
He added: “Yeah, I have thought that but you can’t have everything.
“Of course you look at the young lads on the bench for the derby, the likes of [Dominic] Solanke starting that game, and think maybe that could have been me.
“But then would I have got my Wales call up, would I have scored for my country had I stayed? I wouldn’t have had goals and assists in the Championship, would I? I wouldn’t be getting talked about positively, as I am now.
“It was the right decision for me, I needed it and I think the minutes I’ve played will be valuable for me, for pre-season and beyond.”
The winger is now looking ahead to the new pre-season and making a big impact on his return to Melwood.
He said: “It’s big for me. That was the frustration last season to be honest. I picked up an Achilles injury and it stopped me from expressing myself in pre-season.
“This year, I want to get on that tour, I want to get in the manager’s mind, train hard, train well, stay fit. If I do, then hopefully I’ll get my chance. If not, we’ll sit down and discuss our options.”
“As a Liverpool fan, to see Salah and Mane scoring pretty much every game is great, but as a player, I want to be in that team!
“But I’d like to make myself that backup player for them, or that replacement if they have a knock or whatever. It sounds like a big aim, but why not? I want to play for Liverpool in the Premier League on a regular basis, I will never deny that.”
Wilson has come a long way since his first loan move to Crewe Alexandra when he was just 18 in 2016.
He admits it was a massive learning curve for him.
"It taught me a lot of valuable lessons," he added.
"It gave me experiences that I would never have got by playing Academy football.
"I learned that in senior football it’s about managing the game. People are playing for contracts and playing for careers, so when you’re 1-0 up or 2-0 up, you have to see the game out.
"In Academy football, you’re getting told to play pretty much every time. When you come here you’re playing for three points rather than the performance. That was a massive thing to learn for me. At Hull, I’ve had that in my mind from the word go.”