Harry Wilson is in the form of his life for Fulham and it could be the difference in Wales’ bid to make the World Cup.
As the Welsh national team prepare to host Bosnia-Herzegovina in a crucial, win-or-go-home World Cup play-off, Wilson is their main hope of success.
The 29-year-old attacking midfielder has dealt well with being the protagonist for his country. But he has done the same for Fulham in the Premier League. He has been one of the most underrated players this season and we’re here to shed some light on a few of his impressive stats.
Just how good has Harry Wilson been for club and country this season?
Fulham’s main man
In fact, let’s start here. Despite having one under the radar, Wilson’s goal catalogue has certainly already caught attention for the few screamers he’s scored so far.
It’s three goals from outside the box for the Cottagers’ No.8. The third-most in the league behind Dominik Szoboszlai and Antoine Semenyo (four each).
Tote sign-up offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets
Not signed up to Tote yet? Here's how eligible readers* can take advantage of their welcome offer:
- Open an account at Tote using this link.
- Use code B10G40 on registration.
- Deposit and place a £10 bet on sports or racing at 1/1 or greater.
- When it settles, unlock £30 in free bets
#AD 18+ New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. Bet min of £/€10 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £/€10 Win + £/€10 Place) within 7 days of registration. Receive £/€20 Tote Credit and £/€10 Free Sports Bet. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to the bet slip. 7-day expiry. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.
He also ranks fourth in shots on target from outside the box, with 12. Only Matheus Cunha (13), Morgan Rogers (15) and Szoboszlai (17) are ahead of him in this regard.
But there is an argument to be made that he is the best placer of the ball in the English top flight. Nobody has added more goal probability to their shots than Wilson. The Welshman has turned 5.15 Expected Goals into 8.93 xG on Target – the increase of 3.78 is the highest of any player.
Speaking of xG, he’s also the biggest xG overperformer of the campaign: 10 actual goals from just over five expected ones.
Only eight other players have found the net as many times this Premier League season. Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Semenyo, Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck, Hugo Ekitike, Viktor Gyokeres and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
It’s only the third league campaign of his career with double-digit goals. The previous two were 2021-22 with Fulham (10) and 2018-19 with Derby County (15) – both in the Championship.
Wilson also stands out compared to the rest of his teammates. He is one of just four players to lead their team in both goals (10) and assists (six). The others are Joao Pedro for Chelsea, Bruno Guimaraes for Newcastle United and Jarrod Bowen for West Ham United.
And his complete contributions as scorer and creator are the exception rather than the rule. Joao Pedro and Haaland are the only other players with at least 10 goals and five assists this season.
Midnite Offer: Bet £10, get £30 in free bets
How to claim:
- Open an account at Midnite using this link.
- Deposit £10 or more
- Place your first bet of £10 or more (minimum odds of 1/1)
- Receive £30 in free bets, valid for 7 days on selected betse only.
18+ New customers only. Place a £10+ bet at min odds 1/1 (2.0) within 14 days of sign-up. Get £30 in Free Bets, valid for 7 days on selected bets only. Free stake not returned with winnings. T&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
Bale-esque form and achievement?
The good news for Wales is that he has carried over his club form to the national team. In fact, everything Wilson has done for the Dragons in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers screams of 2022 Gareth Bale.
The position from which they are doing it, the similarity in goal involvements, the attacking load they carry and backpacking their country into a World Cup. Of course, Wilson is still two goals away from that last one. Bosnia and then either Italy or Northern Ireland are in the way.
But it has still been a historic run from the Fulham man in the current qualifiers. Wales spent most of the league campaign fighting for second place against North Macedonia. And when they met in the final match level on 13 points to decide who would go through, Wilson stepped up.
A hat-trick and an assist in a 7-1 thrashing gave Wales the edge and sent them to the play-offs. A win over Bosnia this Thursday would give Wilson the chance to play the exact amount of games Bale did in the 2022 run. And the stats are unbelievably similar.
Of course, Harry Wilson is levels below Gareth Bale or any other Wales legend. And there have been quite a few of them, including the likes of Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush, Mark Hughes, Gary Speed, Aaron Ramsey and even Craig Bellamy – who is now making a name for himself in Welsh football history as manager.
But if he comes close to maintaining a little bit of his form in the play-offs and lead his country to their second straight World Cup, the achievement would be huge. Not quite as impressive as 2022, considering that the finals now include 48 national teams. But still an incredible feat nonetheless.
Wilson also needs just two more goals to equal Bellamy’s tally for the national team. Given that he has either scored or assisted 17 times in his last 20 international appearances, chances are he matches his coach in the upcoming games.