Formidable attacker returning to Liverpool is now inevitable | OneFootball

An attacker returning to Liverpool is now inevitable.

During the rich history of the club, the Reds have rarely brought back former players. It tends to be the case that when you leave Anfield, that chapter is closed forever.

But not for everyone. There have been notable exceptions.

Ian Rush has probably been the most famous example after the Reds brought him back from his time at Juventus.

He went onto become the most prolific goalscorer in the club's history spending a fair few years on Merseyside before leaving the club again.

Steve Staunton is another player who was re-signed after he left the club in 1991. He returned seven years later and spent two more seasons at Anfield.

More recently, Robbie Fowler made a return from Manchester City under Rafa Benitez and Craig Bellamy came back on a free transfer after spending the previous season at Cardiff City in the Premier League.

Notice a pattern here? They tended to be attackers, and half of them have been Welsh.

Now Liverpool look certain to follow that trend again.

Right now, the Reds are needing to add more players to their homegrown list.

Liverpool have fulfilled their entire non-homegrown quota of 17 players for the season, which means sales will have to be made in the summer to accommodate more non-homegrown players coming in.

But there is plenty of space in the non-homegrown quota, especially the club-trained category.

On top of that Liverpool also need to sign an attacker, someone who can give them more goal threat.

So, what better way to do that than to re-sign former academy players who showed special talent but for one reason or another just never quite made it at the club, only to go on and excel elsewhere.

And we don't just mean anyone, we mean Harry Wilson.

The former Liverpool academy graduate has 19 goal contributions in his last 21 matches for club and country and has been one of the most in form attackers in the Premier League. It's all the more impressive at a time when other attackers are struggling in the league because of how the opposition sets up against them.

Wilson has thrived in this environment. Especially because of the wand of a left foot that he has at his disposal. Some of the goals he has scored in this period have been absolutely world-class. He's become very Philippe Coutinho esque in his style play.

And it's brilliant to watch, he is now finally fulfilling the potential and the special talent he showcased at academy level, where he was one of the best to ever play for the club's U18 and U21 sides respectively.

Wilson was an incredible player for Liverpool's U18 and U21 sides. He dominated at that level and showcased his talent on numerous loan spells.

Ultimately, he had to compete for a spot with Mo Salah so chances were limited for him. But now the Egyptian's powers are waning, and it's happened to coincide with Wilson coming into his peak.

At the end of the season he is expected to be a free agent. His current deal expires on the 30th June, at which point Liverpool could sign him on a free deal.

He's not yet signed an extension with Fulham so the door is there for Liverpool to capitalise. But they need to act fast. The Telegraph as reported that Aston Villa also want to sign Wilson.

Given his quality and the fact that he is a former Liverpool academy product, and Liverpool need someone of his profile it now feels like destiny that Wilson will come back to Anfield.

In many ways, the formidable Welshman is exactly what Liverpool need right now, so it would be a surprise to if this one didn't happen. It just looks inevitable given this is a move that makes so much sense. It's got Michael Edwards' finger prints all over it. This is what he used to excel at during his first reign at the club.