Football
Hull City's Liam Millar Tipped to Transform Canadian Football on the Global Stage, Says Legend Peschisolido
Hull City's Liam Millar is poised to elevate Canadian football on the global stage, says legend Paul Peschisolido.
Image Credits: Pete Norton/Getty Images
Hull City’s Liam Millar can help transform Canada’s reputation on the international stage, Paul Peschisolido has claimed, after insisting there is nothing to stop the North Americans from becoming a footballing powerhouse.
Millar’s Move to Hull City
One of the most gifted midfielders in the Championship, Millar found himself at the centre of a three-way transfer battle before joining Tim Walter’s side earlier this summer.
Sheffield United and Preston North End, where he spent most of last season on loan from Basel, both expressed an interest in acquiring the 24-year-old’s services ahead of his move to East Yorkshire.
Image Credits: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Peschisolido, the former United striker and a Canadian legend after being capped more than 50 times by The Canucks, has followed Millar’s career closely after becoming friends with the player’s family on social media. Having witnessed him appear in all three of City’s matches since Walter’s appointment, Peschisolido believes Millar is among an exciting crop of talent with the skills and - crucially - the experience to excel at the 2026 World Cup.
Miller’s European Experience
With Jesse Marsch’s squad qualifying automatically for the tournament, alongside fellow co-hosts the USA and Mexico, Peschisolido said: “I’ve always loved to see Canadians coming over here.”
“The more players we have based in Europe, which in my opinions contains the best leagues there are on the planet, the better as far as I’m concerned.”
“Liam has done that. I watched him at Preston and then followed his move to Hull where I’m sure he’ll do really well also,” he told SportsBoom.com.
“Because he’s Canadian, I’ve kept an eye on his career and somehow become friends with his dad on Facebook.”
“We don’t know each other and have never met in person but, apparently, we’re from not too far apart.”
Liam’s done really well, going to the Copa America and that will have helped to boost his knowledge.
Paul Peschisolido
“It’s important, when you’re operating in the highest levels of the game, to not only have the ability but also the understanding of how to use it properly.”
From Toronto to the Championship
Born in Toronto, Miller enrolled on Fulham’s academy programme following a spell with North Mississuaga FC in his native Ontario.
By his own admission, he struggled to adapt to life in England before being signed by Liverpool. Miller’s performances on loan, at Kilmarnock and Charlton Athletic, persuaded the Swiss to spend £1.3 to secure his release from Anfield three years ago.
Although Peschisolido has welcomed the decision to build a new domestic professional competition in his homeland, with the Canadian Premier League being founded in 2019 - he acknowledged it is vital Marsch, who led The Canucks to a fourth-place finish at the Copa America, continues to see his players flourish overseas.
Canada’s Football Evolution
“It wasn’t so long ago when half our team were amateurs or semi-professionals,” Peschisolido said.
“We had a few in the North American Soccer League and the indoor leagues over here but, with all due respect, the standard isn’t the same.”
“Now it’s a completely different time. We’ve got Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich, Jonathan David at Lille and Ismael Kone who has just gone from Watford to Marseille.”
“These boys are playing for some of the best teams in Europe. It’s exciting to see and bodes well for the future.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.