Joe Allen insists that Fulham winger Harry Wilson’s rise to Premier League poacher has not surprised him as he saw the Welsh international’s talent during their time together at Liverpool.

Wilson has become one of the standout players for club and country, with Sorba Thomas suggesting earlier this year that he stepped in the void left by the retirement of the legendary Gareth Bale. The in-form attacking midfielder became the first Welshman to score in three successive games during the Nations League campaign that concludes this week – and bagged a brace off the bench to beat Brentford last Monday before scoring within a minute of coming on at Crystal Palace last weekend.

Allen told the Press Association tonight:

“Where Harry is now is where we all expected him to go. I was with him when he was a young kid at Liverpool, and it was clear that he was going to be a brilliant player and have a great career. He’s getting a lot of plaudits recently that he fully deserves. In truth, he’s been a key player for us for a number of years now. With Fulham, he’s been making a big impact there as well. It’s great to see and hopefully he can ride this wave and take his form into his future with Wales.”

Wilson and Wales could clinch promotion to Group A of the Nations’ League by beating both Turkey and Iceland in their final B2 fixtures. They travel to Kayseri for a crucial clash on Saturday night, before welcoming Iceland to the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday.