Liverpool have decided not to send young fringe forward Harry Wilson out on loan this season and will only let the Wales international leave on a permanent basis.
Wilson has only played once for the Liverpool first-team but has impressed on loan in each of the last three seasons, playing for Hull and Derby in the Championship and then spending the 2019/20 campaign in the Premier League with Bournemouth, where he scored seven times.
It could have been easy for Liverpool to sanction another loan for Wilson, whose contract at Anfield runs until 2023, by which time he will be 26. But the Liverpool Echo explains that the Reds don’t see much point in loaning out fringe players in the current financial climate.
Instead, Liverpool are only expected to let Wilson go this summer if a club wants to sign him on a permanent deal and is prepared to meet an asking price of £20m. Newcastle, Leeds and Southampton are said to have made enquiries, but no bids have been made.
If there are no offers Liverpool deem acceptable, the Wrexham-born talent will have a place in Klopp’s squad as a rotation option in what promises to be a busy season ahead.
The 2020/21 campaign is kicking off a month late but will still feature the same number of games as always and is intended to finish on time in mid-May due to Euro 2020 starting the following month.
Klopp has been disappointed that the Premier League voted against retaining the option to use up to five substitutions per game, even though IFAB lawmakers extended the temporary rule change. That now puts a premium on squad depth for the forthcoming campaign.
The Echo suggests that Marko Grujic and Ben Woodburn, both of whom have had multiple loan spells in recent seasons, could be in a similar position to Wilson in that they will be part of the first-team squad unless a permanent transfer is arranged.
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Source : 90min