Adam Lallana has showered praise on Liverpool U23s captain Harry Wilson, labelling him the club’s most underrated young player.
Wilson recently made his debut for the first team, coming on as a second-half substitute in January’s 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay win away to Plymouth Argyle.
This marked a milestone in the 19-year-old’s development, after a troubled campaign in 2015/16, first struggling on loan with Crewe Alexandra and then with injuries, including a broken toe.
He has since recently to train regularly under Jurgen Klopp at Melwood, and can hope to establish himself more prominently in the coming months.
The Wales youth international has clearly caught the eye in training, with Lallana picking him out as the club’s most underrated youngster.
“I see great potential for Harry Wilson,” he told BT Sport in a Q&A on Thursday.
“He is captain of the U23s, he has been training with us permanently for three or four weeks. He has got a great left foot.
“Everyone is speaking about Ben Woodburn, Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Ovie [Ejaria].
“But Harry keeps his head down, works hard and I think he has a great future ahead of him.”
Wilson was also on the bench for the 2-1 loss at home to Wolves in the FA Cup fourth round, but failed to make the field as the Reds struggled against their Championship opposition.
Given he has now joined Klopp’s squad on a daily basis, he can hope to feature in the Premier League at some stage in the future.
The Reds have 12 games left before the end of the season, leaving Klopp with fewer opportunities to field his young players, as his first-team squad have more time to rest.
But given he signed a new long-term contract in July, it’s likely that Klopp sees a bigger role for him moving forward, and he has certainly impressed in his captain’s role for the U23s.
With Liverpool flying out to Tenerife for a warm-weather training camp at the end of the month, Wilson may have another opening to impress Klopp—though he may be on duty with the Wales U21s.
Working alongside the likes of Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane will be invaluable for the teenager.
And based on Lallana’s testimony of his attitude, he will no doubt be endearing himself to Klopp in terms of character—supporters can hope to see more of him to come.
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