Liverpool transfer reunion sparks split over Anfield return

Anfield is not expected to be a hub of transfer activity this month but links to a possible reunion with a former Liverpool player have sparked debate among pundits

It would appear that Liverpool are going to have a quiet transfer window. Despite serious injuries to Alexander Isak and Conor Bradley, and Giovanni Leoni before them, the early noises coming out of Anfield is that the Reds will not splash the cash again this month after their record-breaking £450m spree in the summer.

That may change, of course, if an opportunist deal to bring in a long-term target presents itself, such as with Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, who were both snapped up in the January window, or if, for instance, Manchester City were to make a move for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, who Liverpool are planning on persuading to move to Merseyside at the second time of asking when he becomes a free agent in the summer.

Another player whose deal runs out at the end of the season and who has been linked with the defending Premier League champions is their Academy graduate Harry Wilson.

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The Fulham winger is enjoying the best season of his career, scoring seven goals in the Premier League already, including the opener in this month's 2-2 draw with the Reds at Craven Cottage, and creating four more.

There has been no confirmation over whether Liverpool are indeed interested in re-signing Wilson, who joined the club at the age of eight and remained there until his permanent move to Fulham in the summer of 2021.

But that has not stopped speculation from mounting and the pundits from discussing the possibility of the Wales international returning to Anfield on a free transfer.

Danny Murphy, who played for both the Reds and the Cottagers during his career, believes WIlson should stay put.

"Harry Wilson is a wonderful example of football intelligence because he's not the quickest, biggest, or strongest, but he finds brilliant positions, and his awareness and the pictures he sees around him are wonderful to watch," Murphy told BOYLE Sports who offer the latest football odds.

"He's as good a finisher as there is out there. He's a brilliant finisher and deserves lots of credit for the way he's kept his head down and got himself into the team and is producing the levels he is.

"I was thinking about his predicament, and the reality is you have to ask yourself as a player: ‘What level can I get to, and what team can I play in that's realistic?’ Do you want to play every week, or are you happy to be a squad member? Harry Wilson as a squad player at one of the bigger clubs would probably be realistic, someone would take him because of his goalscoring ability. The thing is, he's in his late 20s now and looks like he's really enjoying his football.

"I think the best place for him is where he's at because he's going to play every week and is loved by the fans. If you move somewhere else, the grass isn't always greener. The other thing he's got now is a wonderful opportunity to monetise his situation because he's going to be on a free. Fulham will end up having to give him the type of contract they were never going to give him because of this run of form. If they don't, he's going to have options.

"The difficulty is, if he wants to go to a better team than Fulham and has that opportunity, the reality is he's not going to play every week. So it's a balancing act for him.

"It's easy for me to say because I've finished my career now, but if I were him, I'd be thinking: ‘I'm enjoying my football, I'm playing every week, I'm adored by the fans. If the club look after me financially now, I'll stay,’ because I wouldn't want to go to a bigger club and not play every week, and I don't think he would either."

Wilson made only two first-team appearances for Liverpool, spending time on loan at six different clubs, including Fulham, who paid £12m for his services after helping them win promotion from the Championship in the 2021-22 season.

His price-tag has sky-rocketed since then and that's why he will be in demand come the end of the campaign if he does not sign fresh terms with the Cottaghers.

And Sam Allardyce, the former Everton, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers boss, believes the Reds should be interested, especially with uncertainty over the long-term future of Mohamed Salah.

"I won’t be surprised if he’s already getting calls from other clubs already," said Allardyce on the Footy Accumulators No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, in partnership with BOYLE Sports. "No doubt about that. Especially when he’s free.

"He’s experienced Liverpool, and they ended up moving him on, so to go back to a bigger club than Fulham, returning to Liverpool for example, it’ll be great to see if he can translate that high-quality of play into that team.

“With better players, he should get even more support and be even better. It’s whether he can handle the pressure of the bigger club.”

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