“He Really Has Stood Out!” – Neil Mellor On Liverpool Star With ‘Outstanding’ Prospects | OneFootball

It may have been a season blighted by injury for Liverpool’s two expensive summer striker acquisitions, as both Alexander Isak and, more recently, Hugo Ekitike’s Achilles rupture have meant that both centre-forwards have faced lengthy layoffs. 

However, following perhaps a less high-profile arrival in the previous summer transfer window, Will Wright has certainly been catching the eye following his switch from Salford City to the Reds’ academy. 

Without a goal in his first five appearances and with an injury of his own curbing a slow start to life on Merseyside, the 18-year-old frontman returned to Rob Page’s side in style and finished the campaign with six goals and five assists from 18 appearances across all competitions. 

Recent training sessions with Arne Slot’s first team squad have been awarded with being named on the Premier League bench against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, a sure sign of the development Wright has made since joining Liverpool.

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One man who knows what it takes to make the step up from academy prospect to the senior ranks at Anfield is Neil Mellor, and Dan caught up with one of the heroes of 2005 to get his impressions of the latest young number nine…

“I think he will have an outstanding career. I’ve watched many young players come through the academy, and one of the biggest problems is adjusting from youth football to men’s football. I look at Will Wright, and I think, ‘I wouldn’t want to play against you!’

“He wants to fight centre-halves and we havent seen that style of layer come through, it’s a bit of a throwback. In the summer, everyone wanted a big man; the big man will always be in demand. He can work his socks off, he’ll fight, but also, he knows how to score goals!” 

“We’ve got three games left, I’d like to see him on the pitch, get some game time, whether it’s a minute here or there, or whatever. He has really stood out from the 21s, and I think he is a player who deserves the opportunity. 

“I’ll be honest, watching us against Manchester United at the weekend at 2-2, I was thinking ‘I’d love to see Will Wright come off the bench’, that’s only a personal preference and I don’t know what is going on with the manager, what he has seen but the games I’ve watched him play, this kid would get the crowd going. He is definitely a centre-forward I like to watch.”