'Would have been ideal' - Graham Smyth makes begrudging transfer admission as Leeds prepare to host Fulham
YEP's Graham Smyth has made a begrudging admission as Leeds prepare to host an in-form Fulham side.
Leeds United should regret not landing a ‘season-defining’ signing in Harry Wilson last summer, Graham Smyth has claimed.
The Whites were heavily linked with the Wales international during the summer window, pushing hard to get a move over the line on deadline day. However, no such move transpired, with Wilson since enjoying the best season of his career to date - notching eight goals and five assists in 24 appearances across all competitions, including seven goals and four assists in the Premier League.
Wilson is now in the final six months of his contract at Craven Cottage, and is once again being linked with a move away, though Marco Silva has insisted he’s going nowhere in January and that the club is working on a new deal.
Harry Wilson carrying Fulham ahead of Leeds clash
Fulham head to Elland Road on Saturday with a squad light due to injury and international commitments. Rodrigo Muniz and Kenny Tete are both on the treatment table, while Josh King is also a fitness doubt. What’s more, Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are all unavailable after reaching the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.
The latter two are particularly key figures in the Fulham squad, but Smyth has credited Wilson with almost singlehandedly glossing over their absences, leading the Cottagers to a run of five wins, two draws and just one defeat in their last eight games across all competitions.
“They’re massive characters in that dressing room. Leaders, they clearly bring the dressing room to life, and the fact that they’re not there and they’re still digging out results is largely down to one man. That man is on a mission to show Leeds that he would have been their player of the season,” Smyth said on the Inside Elland Road podcast.
Smyth jokingly continued: “Harry Wilson, I think what has happened here is he’s read in the Yorkshire Evening Post, after we’ve gone in to speak to Leeds about the transfer window and get a bit of a briefing from the higher-ups on how it went, he’s read that bit about Leeds thinking that Harry Wilson probably wouldn’t define their season. That was their consolatory thought after they didn’t get him. They were a bit down, and then they were a bit like, well, hang on, we did some really good business and would getting Harry Wilson define our season?
“The answer, categorically, is yes. Because he is in the form of his life. He’s having an incredible season, he’s banging in goals, he’s putting in unbelievable crosses that just beg a finish. Some of the goals he’s scoring as well, that one against Tottenham, where the ‘keeper was out and he curled one in, just a beautiful ball striker.”
Leeds to regret Harry Wilson miss?
Wilson has always been a talented player, but has never managed to sustain a long run of form at the highest level.
This season has been a completely different story, with the ex-Liverpool man joint-fourth in the Premier League for direct goal involvements (11). He’s also managed nine goals and three assists in his last 12 caps for Wales - including a hat-trick and an assist as captain in a 7-1 World Cup qualifying win over North Macedonia in November.
Smyth cannot help but admit that Wilson would have been a great addition to Daniel Farke’s squad, making a tongue-in-cheek declaration that he’s second only to Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the January Premier League Player of the Month award.
“He would have been ideal,” Smyth added. “But none of us were saying they missed out on Harry Wilson, and that he would have scored seven and assisted four by January. None of us were predicting that. Probably just as well that none of us knew that’s what he’d go on to do, otherwise the meltdown would have been absolutely catastrophic on deadline day, wouldn’t it?
“But fair play to him, what a season he’s having.
“He’s not December’s Player of the Month in the Premier League, despite having a fine month. That’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. But if you’re going to lose out to anyone, you want it to be the player who has had the absolute best month. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, I think, had that.”
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