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The gauntlet was thrown down to Harry Wilson by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp last summer.

Spend a full season in the Championship and prove you can deliver in a tough environment on a regular basis.

The response from the 21-year-old Reds winger has been emphatic. In 25 appearances for promotion-chasing Derby County, Wilson has scored 11 goals and contributed three assists.

The Wales international delivered another performance to cherish as he made his comeback from a hip injury to inspire the Rams to a dramatic FA Cup third round replay victory over Southampton at St Mary's on Wednesday night.

Wilson's curling free-kick sparked a revival from 2-0 down and it was his pin-point cross which put the equaliser on a plate for Martyn Waghorn. Derby held their nerve in the shootout to seal a fourth round tie with Accrington Stanley.

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“Harry was good,” beamed Rams boss Frank Lampard.

“It’s not easy to come in after a couple of weeks of but he is so hungry, he is desperate to play and desperate to affect games.

“He certainly did that in this one. It was another very good free-kick, we know what he has got there. He works on his technique, we were working with him on that yesterday and that is credit to him.

(Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

“The cross was absolutely on a sixpence for Waghorn to score there for the equaliser. Two big contributions for him.”

Remarkably, Wilson has scored eight goals from outside the box in all competitions so far this season. That's twice as many as any other player in the top four tiers of English football.

Five of the eight have been from direct free-kicks.

It wasn't the first time he has sparkled against Premier League opposition this term having helped knock Manchester United out of the League Cup back in September.

Klopp had the option to recall Wilson at the start of the 2019 but decided against it.

The Reds boss is delighted with how the loan is working out for all parties. Wilson has flourished under the guidance of Lampard.

The time away has certainly been more beneficial for his development than sticking around at Melwood as a squad player and getting the occasional run out as back-up for Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Wilson's stint at Hull City in the second half of last season showed promise but he's gone to the next level with Derby.

Liverpool have used the loan system shrewdly. The youngster has banished any doubts about being able to handle the physicality.

If Dominic Solanke is worth £19million, Wilson's value is now even greater.

Wilson, who penned a new five-year contract last July, will return to Melwood for the start of pre-season. Then it's down to him to grasp his chance.

“The dream of mine is to play regularly for Liverpool's first team,” Wilson told the ECHO during pre-season in 2018.

Six months later that dream is a step closer to becoming a reality. The bar is set high at Liverpool but Wilson is a special talent.

There should be room in Klopp's squad for him in 2019/20 and he may well end up saving the Reds a fortune.

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