One player cannot replace Gareth Bale – Wales’ greatest is simply irreplaceable – but Harry Wilson is doing a very creditable job filling the void.
Bale left a huge gap: more international goals and appearances than any other Welshman and a transformational effect on the national team. Since Bale retired in 2023, Wales have had to adapt collectively, and Wilson has emerged as one of the most prominent figures stepping up. Twelve of his 17 international goals have come since Bale’s departure, many of them spectacular long-range strikes that echo Bale’s own highlight reel.
Wilson’s left foot has become a source of magic for Wales. There is even a superficial resemblance in style — flowing hair that now often needs an Alice band — but Wilson is clear it is not about replacing Bale. “We can’t replace Bale,” he told BBC Sport Wales. “He was our best ever player. He carried us through games, he got us to major tournaments and the performances he put in in those tournaments were incredible. I never saw it as ‘I have to replace Bale’, I just knew along with the other attacking players we’ve got massive boots to fill, a big void to fill. As a collective we have to do that. I’m really happy with the way I’ve played and my numbers since Gaz left. But it definitely wasn’t the case of me replacing him because no-one can do that.”
Wilson has produced big moments, including a hat-trick as captain in Wales’ 7-1 win over North Macedonia in November. With Wales facing Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final in Cardiff, and potentially hosting Italy or Northern Ireland in the final, the team will look to creative players like Wilson to produce decisive contributions. In the 2022 play-offs, Bale scored the three decisive goals that sent Wales to the World Cup; Wilson now carries similar expectations.
Wilson’s path to this role has been different to Bale’s meteoric rise. Both made their Wales debuts at 16, but Wilson struggled to break into Liverpool’s first team and spent time on several loans before settling at Fulham. Even after playing a key part in Fulham’s rise to the Premier League, he often started from the bench. This season he has become a regular starter, producing 10 goals and six assists, drawing attention amid speculation over his future as his Fulham contract runs out this summer.
“Everything good about Fulham comes through Harry Wilson,” said Match of the Day pundit Wayne Rooney after one of Wilson’s goals. “His goals, his assists, his vision, everything about his game has been brilliant. He’s been outstanding all season.”
Wales head coach Craig Bellamy believes the improvement is partly maturity. “Sometimes it just clicks for a player,” Bellamy said. “The older you get, not just as a footballer but as a person, the wiser you become, the smarter you become. His football IQ is very high. His positioning, his understanding of the game I see has definitely gone on to another level.”
Team-mate Ethan Ampadu added: “I’m not sure why it’s taken others so long to realise it because he’s always been at those levels and for us it’s no surprise. Everyone has known his qualities, but this year it’s been nice to see the wider audience speak about him more because we know what he can do with the magic of his left foot.”
Wilson’s season has featured moments of individual brilliance — an outside-of-the-boot strike against Crystal Palace won a December goal of the month award — and statistics to back it up. Only Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo has outscored his xG by as much as Wilson, indicating he often scores goals he arguably has no right to.
Former Wales captain Barry Horne summed up Wilson’s role: “Let’s not compare him to a recent, previous goalscorer and creator who shall remain nameless, but he is Wales’ creative heartbeat at the moment. Free-kicks, open play, he’s the man we’ll be looking to to make things happen for us.”
Ampadu stressed the collective nature of Wales’ challenge: “For us to achieve what we want it will be about the collective, players, staff, fans. But when you look at a player who can create a moment of magic from nothing it’s definitely a confidence booster.”
Wilson accepts the limits of any comparison with Bale but is relishing the responsibility. As Wales aim for another shot at the World Cup, he looks set to be one of the principal creators and match-winners for his country.
