Gary McAllister urges Liverpool to sign Harry Wilson on a free

Gary McAllister knows the value of a free transfer at Liverpool better than most. Now he wants his old club to repeat the trick – this time with a familiar face.

Harry Wilson, once the great hope of Liverpool’s Academy and now out of contract at Fulham at the end of the month, is about to hit the market. McAllister believes Anfield should be at the front of the queue.

The 29-year-old winger has quietly built a serious Premier League résumé in west London. Across five years at Craven Cottage he has racked up 187 appearances, 36 goals and 46 assists, operating mainly from the right and carrying a constant threat with that left foot.

He left Liverpool in search of opportunity, having made just two senior appearances for the club while being shuttled through a series of loans at Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Derby County, Bournemouth and Cardiff City before his initial temporary move to Fulham. The talent, though, was never in doubt.

McAllister saw it up close.

The former Scotland international, who arrived at Liverpool on a free in 2000 and became one of the club’s shrewdest signings of the modern era, remembers Wilson as one of the standout youngsters at Kirkby, a player “coached in the Liverpool way” who always caught the eye when staff talked about the next generation.

What Liverpool see now is the finished article that Academy coaches envisaged. Wilson has become a mainstay for Wales, earning 69 caps and featuring in all three of their matches at the last World Cup. His game has broadened: sharp delivery, a wide passing range, goals from distance, a relentless work-rate out of possession. The raw, slight teenager has turned into a rounded, reliable Premier League performer.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed. Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton have all been strongly linked with a move, sensing the value in a free transfer for a player at his peak who already knows the division inside out.

McAllister’s view is simple: Liverpool should be in that conversation.

With Mohamed Salah gone and Hugo Ekitike facing a long spell out through injury, Liverpool’s right side suddenly looks lighter than it has in years. There is scope – and need – for another senior attacker who can slot straight into the demands of a title-chasing squad.

Wilson fits that profile. He knows the club, understands the expectations and has already proved he can carry responsibility at Premier League and international level. McAllister describes him as a “top-end Premier League player now” and points to his consistency for both Fulham and Wales as evidence of a footballer who has outgrown the tag of promising youngster.

There is no romance clause in modern recruitment. Sentiment rarely survives the data meetings. Yet every so often, a move aligns value, need and narrative.

A former academy star, available for nothing, entering his prime, just as Liverpool reshape their attack.

McAllister has made his case. The question now is whether Anfield’s decision-makers see the same opportunity in Harry Wilson that he does – and whether the winger’s journey comes full circle.