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Harry Wilson gives his first interview after becoming Leeds’ first signing of the summer

Harry Wilson gives his first interview after becoming Leeds’ first signing of the summer following his departure from Fulham.

The 29 year old has signed a four year deal until June 2030, and had been the club’s priority target for the last few weeks.

He departs Fulham, who he had made 187 appearances and scored 36 goals between 2021 and 2026. Prior to that, he’s played for Cardiff, Bournemouth, Derby, Hull, Crewe and Liverpool.

Fulham said in a statement on their website: “Harry Wilson has left Fulham and joined Leeds United following the expiry of his contract.

“It brings the curtain down on a prolific five years in SW6 for the winger, as he departs with 82 goal involvements (36G, 46A) in 187 games for the Club.”

Wilson posted a statement via Instagram: “To everyone associated with Fulham FC, after five amazing years, it’s time to say goodbye.

“I came to the club wanting somewhere to call home and I definitely did that.

“This club will always mean a lot to me and my family. It’s where we brought both of our children into the world, and that will stay with me forever.

“To the fans, thank you. Your support has meant so much throughout my time here, and it’s been a privilege to represent this club in front of you.

“I’m so proud of everything we achieved together. Winning the Championship, setting the club’s highest Premier League points total and most wins in a season, and being part of such a great group of players and staff are memories I’ll always look back on with pride.

“To finish my time at Fulham as Player of the Season makes it even more special.

“The friendships I’ve made here will stay with me for life, and I’d like to thank everyone behind the scenes who work so hard every day to make the club what it is.

“Who put the ball…

“H. 🤍”

Tony Khan said: “I would like to thank Harry for his dedication and commitment to Fulham over the last five years. His flair and tenacity on the pitch made him a firm fan favourite, and his memorable goals even more so.

“He is also a truly great person and will be missed around the training ground, but we wish him all the very best for the future and thank him for his time with the Club.

“Thank you, Harry!”

Interviewer: Well, Harry, welcome to Lead United. Happy?

Harry: Yeah, delighted. Yeah, really, really excited, see massive, massive club back in the Premier Premier League where the club belongs. So, yeah, really excited to join the club an, yeah, hopefully have some exciting years together.

Interviewer: The process has been quite a long process, hasn’t it? Because your name was first mentioned in connection with this football club quite a while ago.

Harry: Yeah, there’s been a few transfer windows in the past where I said there’s been some interest and it hasn’t quite got over the line for yeah, for one reason or another. This summer was different, I think when the season finished and I became a free transfer, I felt Leeds were the team that yeah, that really showed the interest in me. And as a player, you want to play for a team which yeah, which you feel like they want you. They feel like they’re doing everything to get you and yeah and speaking with like you said before the Welsh boys and and the lads I know here I think as soon as that interest was there and I spoke with them I think it was pretty clear that this was the place that I wanted to come.

Interviewer: That must help I guess cuz you’re walking to a dressing room where you know a significant number of people already.

Harry: Yeah I’ve had quite a few moves in my career some loans some permanent and yeah definitely helps when you have a few familiar faces in the changing room and I’ve certainly got that here really close with all the Welsh boys and I know Jayden Bogle from from from the Derby days as well. So yeah, it’s nice to know a few familiar lads and I’ve got no doubt that they’ll help me settle in.

Interviewer: You come to Leeds off the back of what you must feel was a pretty good season with Fulham. Would that be right?

Harry: Yeah, I think personally and yeah and collectively I think it was a strong strong season. I think as an attacker you judged on your numbers and my numbers last season were good. As a whole it was another strong strong season for Fulham and yeah so I really enjoyed last season and I feel like I’m in a really good place coming to Leeds and going into the new one.

Interviewer: Where do you set the level of ambition for your new club?

Harry: Yeah, I think last year was an important year for for Leeds. I think as a newly promoted team, it’s all about being solid, making sure you stay in the Premier League because previous years has shown how difficult that can be. The number of teams that have come up and gone straight back down. So, I can only go off the two games I played against Leeds last year, but both really, really tough games and quite similar in a way. I think at Craven Cottage it was a tight game and and Fulham get the win late on and then at Elland Road again another tight game Leeds with a better team and then score late on. So I think in both of them games I realised what a difficult team they were and you have to have a big personality. You have to be able to to deal with pressure. I think the the demands of the club, demands of the fans. So I think yeah to play for less you have to have that personality. You have to be able to take the pressure and go out and perform. Just excited to yeah to come in to join the group, yeah, and build on what the team put in place last year.

Interviewer: Yeah, you’ve been here as an away player in the past. What is it like walking into the cauldron?

Harry: The atmosphere is incredible. I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up, but I go back to 2019, that game against Derby, and to to this day, that’s the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in. And like I said, I wasn’t sure whether to bring it up, but I think it’s a positive. I remember walk walking out that night and seeing all the scarves getting waved and the atmosphere, you couldn’t hear yourself think. And yeah, when that first goal went in on the pitch, I was like, “Wow, his yeah, the fans were incredible.” And yeah, thankfully for me, it turned out a good night for me, but yeah, I can’t look past the atmosphere. And like I said, that’s the, yeah, to this day the best atmosphere I’ve played in. And it fills me with with with excitement that I get to play in front of these fans now.

Interviewer: That’s it. You walk out now, they’re on your side.

Harry: Yeah. So that’s definitely going to be easier walking out that tunnel and them on my side rather than against against me.

Interviewer: In terms of the team and the squad, were you impressed with what Leeds did on that arrival back in the Premier League last season?

Harry: Yeah, I think so. I’ve been there. I was there a few a few years ago and I know how difficult it is to be a newly promoted team and the quality in the Premier League is no easy game home and away. But yeah, I think in the two games that I played against Leeds last year, I saw firsthand how difficult they were to beat. and see watching from afar from games and I think this place especially seeing how how tough it is to come here and speaking with the guys throughout the summer. I think they said since the turn of the year I think they only lost four four or five games and I think in the Premier League to have that shows that they’re really really competitive team and yeah I said I’m just really looking forward to being part of that.

Interviewer: So there’s obviously a big Welsh vibe at Leeds United now because what half a dozen at least of the of this the current Welsh squad are here. Is that something that, is that good? Are you looking forward to being part of that and having that kind of continuity as well?

Harry: Yeah, I think so. I think what helps is we’re all close. I think in the well squad, we’re such a tight tight-knit group. So that naturally brings you close. So I think to be playing with the boys at club level and international level, I think that’s only going to bode well. And I feel like when you’re playing for a team, if yeah, like you said, if you are close-knit, if the change changing room moves tight, I think when you go out on that pitch, I feel like ultimately you perform better. So yeah, I think with that Welsh contingency now, it only only got bigger with me arriving, yeah, I think that’s only posit that’s only posit positive.

Interviewer: I’m guessing there’s a similarity because the Welsh group for a long time has been about spirit inside the group and it’s very much been the case here at Leeds United as well. You’d be aware of that, I’m sure.

Harry: Yeah, definitely. Obviously, I can only speak from the Welsh side of things, but that’s definitely the case with us. And I think when we play at the Cardiff City Stadium in big games, we always try and use the crowd to to our to our advantage. I think overall our record is really good there and I think there’s a lot of similarities to our home stadium of Wales to what it is here. I think I say we try and use the fans. We try and make it a difficult place to come and I think if you look at both records um I think they’re really really strong.

Interviewer: When you didn’t arrive in the last transfer window, do you get any grief? Did you get any calls from the contingent who were waiting for you here?

Harry: Yeah, I say it was Ethan Ampadu. It was Ethan that was doing the majority of the calls. We was away with Wales at the time. It happened that the deadline date fell on an international window and I think Ethan had a slight knock so he he wasn’t there. So yeah, he was blowing at my phone. I was trying to con concentrate on the Wales game and he was blowing up my phone making sure I signed different stuff to make sure we could could get the deal done but ultimately we ran out of time and but yeah, I think I always think things happen for a reason and we 10-11 months down the line line now and I’m here. So yeah, it all worked out well in the end.

Interviewer: I’m sure he’s stuck at it because he’s persistent like that.

Harry: Yeah, that’s a bit like his game. He’s like that with his calls as well. If you don’t answer, he’s ringing he’s ringing you again. So, yeah, I said he was desperate to get me here and uh he’s played a big part in that.

Interviewer: You come from a a small town in North Wales, very tight-knit community. Are there many Leeds fans in Corwen?

Harry: Yeah, definitely. I say obviously Wrexham being the local team, everyone keeps an eye out for them. And then, yeah, I’d say a lot of Man United fans, a lot of Liverpool fans, but then I’d say the third team is Leeds. And I’ve got got uncles, I’ve got close family friends that as soon as they heard the news I was coming coming here where yeah were on the phone to me and I had a few days at home the back the back end of the week the week before last and people were coming over coming up to me and yeah they were really excited that I was join joining Leeds and like I said growing up there I know how big the club is. I know how passionate the fans are and say in the early 2000s when I was in my childhood Leeds were they were in Europe they were they were one of the teams in the Premier League the big the big team. So, I’ve grown up with that, so I know what it’s all about and yeah, excited to hopefully play a part in getting them back there.

Interviewer: You’ve been keeping fit. We’ve seen the images while you’ve had your little holiday ready to hit the ground running.

Harry: Yeah, I think that’s important in this day and age that over the summer break that yeah, you have to keep yourself fit and I knew going into a new team, I wanted to make sure I was in the best shape possible. So, yeah, I’ve been doing my running. I’ve been doing doing a bit of ball work. So, I’m hoping when preseason starts next week, I’m able to hit the ground ground running and yeah, and really get to work.

WILSON’S CAREER:

Youth
2005–2014 – Liverpool

Senior
2014–2022 – Liverpool – 2 games
2015 → Crewe Alexandra (loan) – 7 games (0 goals)
2018 → Hull City (loan) – 14 games (7 goals)
2018–2019 → Derby County (loan) – 48 games (18 goals)
2019–2020 → AFC Bournemouth (loan) – 35 games (7 goals)
2020–2021 → Cardiff City (loan) – 38 games (7 goals)
2021–2026 – Fulham – 187 games (36 goals)
2026– Leeds United

International
2013 – Wales U17 – 3 games (3 goals)
2014 – Wales U19 – 2 games (1 goals)
2015–2017 – Wales U21 – 10 games (2 goals)
2013– Wales – 69 games (17 goals)

Here’s the social media reaction as Harry Wilson gives his first interview after becoming Leeds’ first signing of the summer…

@UnitedLeeds_1: Absolutely chuffed to bits with that signing onwards and upwards 👌

@RosetteJerseys: You boys might as well start singing the Welsh national anthem before games 😅 some signing that though 👌🏻

@WhiteKnightLUFC: Great signing. Hopefully will provide plenty of goals and assists

@paulmchale16: Excellent signing. I think we can push top 8 with Wilson in the squad. Great addition to the team. Statement signing.

@aidenlufc: Statement of INTENT!!! Fucking get in.

@shity_city: Leeds currently have like half my national team. So like Marching On together and dat

@jack_bridger98: Sorry for everything I called you in that Derby game xoxo

@AllLeeds______:
Really excited by this one…
Harry Wilson replaces (probably) our weakest player in the starting XI… and will become our strongest technical player in the attacking third. Absolutely raises the ceiling.
Picking up where we left off last summer 💪

@BC_LUFC: Bogle is gonna go up another level imo with someone like this front of him. Not really had that level of quality in front of him at Leeds

@hayleymack92: Between that top and the fact that our goal is clearly Europe in the next few seasons! I can not wait for club football to be back 😮‍💨💙💛

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