Cardiff City hit Liverpool transfer jackpot for just one season - but there was a catch | OneFootball

Cardiff City made a big statement by signing Harry Wilson on loan from Liverpool in 2020, but Bluebirds fans didn't actually get to see him in person.

Harry Wilson was a big statement loan signing for Cardiff City in October 2020, but circumstances dictated that supporters wouldn't get to see him in the flesh donning Bluebirds colours.

With well over 100 Premier League appearances for Fulham and more than 60 for Wales, Harry Wilson is an established Premier League and international star, having proven himself as a talismanic figure under Craig Bellamy following Gareth Bale's retirement, and when Cardiff City managed to bring him on a season-long loan in October 2020 it was quite a coup for the Championship club.

Wilson had already appeared in the EFL for Crewe Alexandra, Hull City and Derby County, and in the Premier League for Bournemouth, by the time that he arrived at The Cardiff City Stadium in October 2020. Unable to get himself a place in the first-team at Anfield, the early years of his career were marked by being repeatedly sent out on loan.

But although he had an excellent season and remains fondly remembered by Bluebirds fans, the peculiarities of the 2020-21 season meant that they were unable to see that much of him in the flesh.

Harry Wilson's talents were recognised at a very young age

Born in Wrexham, Harry Wilson was recognised as an exceptional talent from a very young age. He arrived at the Liverpool academy at eight years old and was picked to play for Wales by Chris Coleman at 16, before he'd made a single senior club appearance. In doing so, he became both Wales and Liverpool's youngest-ever international player.

But Wilson was unable to get a place in the Liverpool first team squad, and instead was loaned out to Crewe Alexandra - for whom he made his senior debut in September 2015 - before returning to Anfield. He made the first of two appearances for Liverpool in 2017, when he came on as a substitute in an FA Cup Third Round replay against Plymouth Argyle.

Still unable to get senior game-time at Anfield, he went on loan to Hull City for the second half of the 2017-18 season, and spent the following two seasons at Derby County and in the Premier League with Bournemouth.

The very fact that Wilson had appeared for Bournemouth in the Premier League the previous season - he scored 7 goals in 31 League appearances for the Cherries to finish as their second-top scorer behind Callum Wilson - meant that he was quite a statement signing for Cardiff City, even on a season-long loan, with the added significance of him being an established Welsh international by this time, despite never having made a Premier League appearance for his parent club.

But at that time, Cardiff had serious ambitions of a return to the Premier League. They'd been promoted in 2018, but had been unable to hang on to their place there, getting relegated the following season. And the 2019-20 season, which saw them return to the Championship, ended with them finishing in 5th place in the table before losing to Fulham in the semi-finals of the play-offs.

The 2020-21 season had started poorly for them, with two home defeats in their first three matches, but by the time Wilson arrived in the middle of October they had stabilised somewhat, and two days after his arrival at the club he made his debut for them in a 1-0 win away to Preston North End.

A run of six defeats in seven matches between December and January effectively ended any realistic chances the Bluebirds had of getting promoted again, and that run was also enough to cost manager Neil Harris his job. He was replaced by Mick McCarthy on the 22nd January, with the team in 14th place in the table and thirteen points off a play-off place.

McCarthy managed to turn the team's fortunes around on the pitch, though not be enough to get them to the play-offs. By the time the season ended, Cardiff were in eighth place in the table, still nine points short of a play-off spot.

But Wilson shone throughout that season, even scoring his first professional hat-trick in a 4-0 win away to Birmingham City at the start of May 2021. In total, he managed seven goals and 11 assists for Cardiff that season. He left the club at the end of the season and would spend the 2021-22 season on loan at Fulham, who made his transfer to Craven Cottage permanent in the spring of 2022 for a reported £12 million fee. He remains with the London club to this day.

Cardiff City fans haven't had it as good since. Four seasons of mediocrity followed in the Championship, culminating in relegation to League One at the end of the 2024-25 season. Wilson, meanwhile, went on to get the regular Premier League place that he craved at Fulham, where he remains a member of the first-team.

But if there is one lingering regret that Bluebirds fans will have about Wilson's time at Cardiff City Stadium, it'll be that they didn't get to see his talents in person. The 2020-21 season was the season that was played behind closed doors as a result of the pandemic, meaning that his performances for the club could only be witnessed via a television screen.

It was probably always the case that Harry Wilson's stay in South Wales would be a temporary one. He's proved himself to be a Premier League calibre player. But Cardiff fans may always have a lingering touch of regret that circumstances dictated they were unable to see what he brought to their team in person.

A wonderful player to watch in full throttle, Wilson is a dead-ball specialist who carries an air of technical elegance in possession and can break defensive lines with ease courtesy of a real wand of a left foot.

Cardiff saw that for themselves — albeit through a screen as opposed to in the flesh — though while Wilson was occasionally criticised for not always being consistent during his time in the Welsh capital, he still remains fondly remembered for what he brought in a generally-inconsistent campaign for the Bluebirds and for what he's continued to serve up on the international stage.