Who is Harry Wilson?

Harry Wilson is the next youngster to be covered on ‘Who is…’. Wilson, 17, plays as a winger for Liverpool’s Under 21 and Under 18 sides. He also plays for Wales’ national side.

Born in Wrexham, Wilson joined the Reds at Under 9 level. He made his debut for Neil Critchley’s Under 18s in the 2012-13 season where he helped his side reach the semifinals of the FA Youth Cup. Last season, Wilson was a regular in the Under 18 side before being promoted to the Under 21 side for the final few games of the season. When he did play for the Under 18s he performed well on a consist basis at in this year’s Argon Futures Cup in the Netherlands, Wilson was Liverpool’s top scorer. In July 2014, he was finally rewarded for all his efforts when he was given his first professional contract by the club.

Wilson carried on his form into the 2014-15 season and scored the winner for Liverpool in their 3-2 win over Real Madrid in the UEFA Youth League on Tuesday. In his three games in the competition so far, Wilson has scored once and managed three assists. In the Barclays Under 21 Premier League, Wilson has played five times, managing just the one assist. This could suggest that Wilson is more suited to Under 19 football and his integration into Under 21 football needs to be well managed by the club if they are to have a technically gifted player on their hands.

The Welshman’s big break in international football came in October 2013, when the winger was named as an unused substitute in Wales 1-0 victory over Macedonia. Wilson then made his first appearance for Wales just four days later, when he came on as an 87th minute substitute in the 1-1 draw with Belgium. In doing so, he became Wales’ youngest ever player aged 16 years and 207 days, beating no other than Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. The winger broke another record on the same night when he became Liverpool’s youngest international footballer.

He had only previously represented Wales at Under 17 level, where he won the Victory Shield. This is also where he caught the eye of Wales manager Chris Coleman as he scored three goals in three appearances.