From the Anfield bench to a Sunday afternoon brace, Will Wright is a name Liverpool fans need to know. The youngster’s dream week continued as he backed up his Premier League involvement against Crystal Palace with two goals for the U21s against Crystal Palace U21s, proving exactly why Arne Slot has him in the first team.
Will Wright, the youngster, was handed a surprise promotion to the senior bench as Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace visited Anfield. With Hugo Ekitike sidelined for the long term following a devastating ruptured Achilles tendon, Arne Slot turned to the academy standout to bolster his depleted attacking options.
The 18-year-old was handed his proud moment in the spotlight, therefore, with it not too long ago that Wright was plying his trade for League Two outfit Salford City.
Now, he’s sat alongside the likes of Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong, soaking in the Anfield atmosphere, with a hope he can one day explode into life in the Liverpool senior picture, as a devastating goalscoring presence.
Since making the move from Salford City last summer, the Preston-born sensation has been an undeniable revelation within the academy ranks.
His transition from the lower leagues to the elite surroundings of the AXA Training Centre has been seamless, as he once again proved to be the difference-maker for Rob Page’s U21 side during their clash on Sunday.
His rise is made all the more intriguing by his departure from Salford, the League Two outfit famously co-owned by Manchester United legend Gary Neville and the rest of the “Class of ’92.”
While Neville and his partners have built a reputation for developing talent in the EFL, they may well be watching Wright’s rapid ascent at Anfield with a hint of regret, having seen such a prolific talent traded for the bright lights of a Premier League powerhouse.
Wright’s goalscoring exploits for the U21s
Despite the individual brilliance of Will Wright, Rob Page’s U21s suffered a heartbreaking exit from the Premier League 2 playoffs on Sunday.
After a frantic 120 minutes of football that saw the Reds and Crystal Palace locked in a 2-2 draw, the contest was ultimately decided by the lottery of a penalty shootout.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, the young Eagles held their nerve to secure a 4-3 victory from the spot, bringing a sudden and disappointing end to an otherwise promising post-season run.
During the regular contest, Wright was a real handful for the Eagles’ defence to contain, with the 18-year-old scoring both of the U21s’ goals on the day.
In the right place at the right time to smash home his second, after some good work down the wing by fellow prodigy Kieran Morrison, Wright will bow out from his Premier League 2 campaign with a mightily impressive six goals and five assists next to his name, from 15 appearances.
Unsurprisingly, he has garnered a lot of hype behind the scenes at Liverpool, with Page previously noting that the ex-Salford teenager is a “proper striker.”
He was full of praise after this penalty shootout defeat, too, with the U21s boss stating: “He has got the physicality in abundance.
There are parts of the game we want to work on, his link-up play can be a little bit better, but when you have someone with Will’s attitude it makes him great to work with as he just wants to learn every day.
For his second goal, the ball from Kieran Morrison was brilliant and the run across the defender at the near post, that’s striker’s instinct. It’s hard to coach that. You can give them ideas of what to do, but the timing of the run was to perfection.
“He is in a good place at the moment. What I like best about him is his work-rate. Having been a league manager and now working in Academy football, sometimes we call it a false environment when you’re playing the Arsenals and Man Citys of the world and they are technically very good games.
“But the game against Palace was as ‘real’ a game as you’re going to get. That’s one of the biggest thing I’ve tried to change in the mentality of the players by making things a bit more real, and Will thrives on that because he’s had that experience, he’s played league football and he knows what is needed. He drives the standards with that.”
The natural progression for the 18-year-old now involves earning his competitive senior debut under Arne Slot. The Dutchman has already established a reputation at Anfield for his willingness to blood academy talent, consistently handing opportunities to the club’s most exciting starlets within the first-team environment.
Wright could be the next youngster to explode
The obvious example Wright will try to follow is Rio Nguhoma‘s, with the 17-year-old now a first-team regular under Slot.
15 first team appearances have been handed his way this season in the Premier League, and he has two goals to show for his efforts, which includes him becoming Anfield’s youngest ever goalscorer in a 2-0 win over Fulham.
The 6-foot-4 striker will be aiming to follow closely in Nguhoma’s footsteps, where he has effectively fast-tracked his own development, surging from the U18s through to the U21s and straight into the first-team fold.
The upcoming 2026/27 pre-season will be his best opportunity to stake a claim for some starting minutes, as Ekitike battles back from injury.
For now, Slot will feel the need to keep selecting the likes of Alexander Isak, over experimenting, with Liverpool’s Champions League status still on the line.
