The Premier League has long been world-renowned for elite pace and physicality, a clear distinction among Europe’s top five leagues. The creative attacking midfielders of years’ past – Eden Hazard, Mesut Özil, or Adel Taarabt if you like, all served as visual aids for contrast in speed and movement. Floating languidly in central pockets of space, the prized playmaker conserved energy until a tireless teammate found a ball into their feet.
Enter: systematic, high-intensity pressing widely attributed to Jürgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola sides of recent years. Now a pervasive tactic in world football – countless clubs set out to relentlessly hound opponents in their defensive third, whether in pursuit of silverware, stability, or survival.
With more pressing priorities on the cusp, this previously precious plot of the pitch has evolved into a critical, heavily trafficked intersection of speed and industry. High-pressing systems have eradicated the once fervent demand for a luxury central attacking midfielder – paving the way for athletic, two-way footballers with tactical versatility and defensive work rate.
As this strategy yielded a shift in squad composition, it should be explicitly stated: the high-press didn’t kill off our beloved magicians and playmakers. Instead, they changed rooms and picked up a few additional chores in the process. With busy box-to-box midfielders commandeering centrally, let us move our attention out toward the touchline.
The inverted winger is an increasingly common locale for players who fit the production profile of a Ten – look no further than the league’s homegrown talent tending to line up out wide; Phil Foden, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, dare I say Jack Grealish? While historically the playmaker was not a role lauded for adaptability, these household names are playing their part in defining the modern Ten that starts wide, cuts inside, and doesn’t let defensive duties slide.
One of the many remarkable aspects of Premier League football is the world-class talent on display each matchweek from top-to-bottom, tip-to-tail. Special shout to Burnley Boss, former Fulham midfielder and First-Team Handsome Boy Modeling School’s Scott Parker, who won Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year the same season his West Ham side were relegated. Whether a top-four bout or a survival six-pointer, tune into just about any fixture and soak in the immense overall match and individual quality.
A more under-the-radar individual transcending the transition between Barclay’s-Era brilliance and modern moxie is none other than Wrexham-born baller Harry Wilson. Fulham’s number 8, listed Five-Foot Nine, with all the makings of a modern #10.
Progressing up through Liverpool’s academy from age eight, Wilson signed his first professional contract with the Reds in 2014. Acclimating to first-team football via various loan moves, Fulham made his move permanent ahead of their 2021-22 promotion campaign that saw their loan-to-permanent man earn an EFL Championship team of the season nod. After a few seasons contributing solid yet unremarkable output mainly as a substitute, Wilson has already eclipsed his highest top-flight goal tally in half a season’s time.
The Unexpected Emergence of Rodrigo Muniz in Fulham’s Attack
If Fulham’s home ground, Craven Cottage, is colloquially known as “The Library” for its family-friendly atmosphere with polite, good-natured supporters – the catalyst for quiet in 2025/26 could very well be to harbor their mid-table Lionel Messi from inquiring offers. Thriving in a starting role, Harry’s red-hot form is propelling Fulham within reach of a European place, uncharted territory for the London outfit since qualifying for the 2011-12 Europa League via an 8th-place finish.
Composed, commanding performances have proven he is continually rising to the occasion, and clutch moments against formidable opponents, including a rifled finish against his former club indicative his confidence is unwavering. Hopefully I’m not the first to introduce you to his Goal of the Month winner in December, but if so – feast your eyes. A goal that oozes class, and probably would’ve cracked the 2006 December to remember list.
This season, Marco Silva’s side have employed a hybrid approach to pressing by utilizing a compact mid-block – particularly when facing the league’s best sides – and tend to enact more intense pressing against lower-table opposition. The Portuguese’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation allows for flexible tactics wherein the Cottagers frequently shift between controlled possession and direct, vertical, counter-attacking play.
Looking at Wilson’s heatmap for the season so far, he is indeed busiest on the right touchline, where he typically lines up at kickoff. However, if we were to compare against a more traditional winger’s heatmap, for example, Jeremy Doku, it’s clear that the Fulham man is making his way around the pitch, rather than attacking and defending solely the wide spaces.
Taking a closer look at some passages of play, the below sequence provides excellent insight to one of the many ways in which Harry Wilson embodies the demands of both a modern #10 and Marco Silva’s tactically versatile approach. After soaking up pressure from several dangerous corners, Wilson – found furthest forward in the below frame, spots the Chelsea players slow to get back in formation. Before Bernd Leno sets the ball down for a goal kick, Harry already started his run.
The German Goalkeeper sees his teammate bursting forward to bypass the entire Chelsea squad and swiftly plays direct into the ample space in the visitors’ half.
Within seconds, Wilson and Marc Cucurella are in a 1v1 battle, bearing down towards Robert Sánchez’s goal.
A combination of spatial awareness, strength, and pace that shows like something out of Erling Haaland’s playbook, Wilson secures possession at full-tilt and is subsequently dragged down in what was deemed a last-man challenge just outside the box. No pen, but Cucurella is sent off and Chelsea found themselves down to ten men early in the match (cheers Geoff).
Also worth a quick shout – in the second half, Wilson again opts for route one in favor of build-up, creating a near-identical chance with Joachim Andersen playing a fantastic weighted ball over the top.
Resulting in another nervy 1v1 moment, he continued to wreak havoc on the Blues’ backline. The footage most likely seen by the masses from this London derby was his cheeky late winner, where, in two touches, he secured a massive 3 points for the pre-match underdogs.
Going back to heatmaps to help illustrate, the Chelsea game reflects the verticality with which Wilson exploited his opponents. With a man advantage, Fulham and Wilson were direct and aggressive – overlapping runs with Raúl Jiménez centrally on counters and playing notably narrower as the right attacker in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
In another stellar performance against Brighton, with Silva’s preferred 4-2-3-1 deployed, we see both a wider profile and deeper defensive activity. The below sequence further expounds on the Fulham no.8’s versatility, dynamism, and prowess across different areas the pitch.
In the foreground is Wilson, occupying the space between Olivier Boscagli at left back and Pascal Groß in midfield. With Brighton looking to build out from the back, Lewis Dunk successfully splits a pass between Alex Iwobi and Jiménez to find Yasin Ayari who is showing for Dunk with a good checked run back into space. Ayari takes a loose touch, with Sander Berge and Wilson immediately converging on the ball to exploit the turnover in a dangerous area.
Anticipatory of Berge arriving first to the ball, Harry Wilson gestures towards Iwobi in the space up-field. Rather than darting wide to create an overload and attack from the wing, he underlaps Berge, capitalizing on the space opening centrally as Ayari tries to pressure the ball. Iwobi plays the ball to Jiménez, who lays it back first-time into space for Wilson, taking out 5 Brighton players in the process. Smith-Rowe clears out, allowing Wilson to carry and fire from distance, his attempt narrowly flying over the crossbar.
Admittedly, Kevin (top left) had made a great run into the box and was the more pragmatic option. That said, we could hardly blame the lad for having a pop as it wouldn’t have been his first audacious finish from distance this season. Fast forward to the final moments of the match, and once again it’s a late drama as our subject serves up a match-winning free-kick that speaks for itself. No notes. Three points. Another player of the match performance for the main man along the River Thames.
Currently on 8 league goals, Wilson is among the highest xG outperformers in the league – nearly a full 4 goals above his expected tally. Tack on 4 assists, and he’s good for the league’s 6th highest total goal involvements through matchweek 24. With 6 bookings, he’s certainly demonstrated his defensive credentials and is not afraid to get about the pitch and get stuck in.
Having shown prior flashes of brilliance and earlier consistency at the Championship level, this year has proven Wilson’s ability to raise and maintain his playing standard among the Premier League’s elite. After a second successive nomination, his blistering winter form has earned him January Premier League player of the month. Exhibiting the required characteristics of a modern Ten and effectuating influence on broader areas of the pitch either side of the ball – he is the embodiment of quality the league has to offer both on-field and across the table.
Fulham’s ascendency can be attributed to their press, counter-attack, and set piece conversion – all of which Harry Wilson is central to (albeit not always positionally), bringing the fight to each fixture and going toe-to-toe with the league’s top sides, making them an uncomfortable opponent each matchweek.
While raising the decibel levels at the Cottage on the quest for a European place, the Welshman has also been in exceptional form for his country. With Wales set for a crucially important World Cup Playoff in March, the 28 year-old has plenty of defining moments on his horizons to further make his mark on an already splendid season.
Perhaps if Harry were native to a part of the island that uses more vowels, we’d have seen him poached by a big club for a big fee, with no disrespect to his current employer. Speculative transfer rumors and media attention still largely seems to evade non-English talent outside the Big Six, thus the need to give the man his much-deserved flowers.
He’s out of contract at the end of this season, and from a distance it would seem that Wilson extending his stay in the capital is contingent on his manager’s next move, with Marco Silva also on contract expiry come summer and yet to decide on renewing. Whether a high-press, high holey socks, or high scorelines, the Premier League moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around (or watch a Fulham match) once in a while, you could miss it.
By: Daniel Haber / @dnhbr
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / NurPhoto
