Jack Harrison made a courageous decision in 2015, when he left his home in England to pursue college in the States. A member of the Manchester United youth academy, Harrison was an experienced player even before he began his short time at Wake Forest. He made the move based on the educational opportunities in America. During the 2015 season at WF, he scored 8 goals and assisted 11 en route to being named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Freshman of the Year, and a NSCAA First Team All American. Harrison was so talented that NYCFC tried to bend the rules and sign him as a Homegrown player on the account that he played with an affiliate club called Manhattan SC previously. New York City FC still managed to get him in the draft, as Chicago Fire took him #1 and traded him to NYCFC in exchange for Brandon Vincent and allocation money. Unfortunately, an injury left Harrison sidelined until May.
On May 21st, 2016, Jack Harrison replaced Tommy McNamara in the 57th minute of the historic 7-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium. Two weeks later, he opened his account for NYCFC in his first start for the club in a home match against Real Salt Lake. In the end, Harrison's injury likely held him back from winning the 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year award, as he only played in 21 matches. He finished the year with 7 goals and 4 assists. The award went to Seattle's Jordan Morris, who scored 12 with 4 helpers whilst appearing in all 34 matches. Harrison finished runner-up in MLS Goal of the Year voting as well, Shkelzen Gashi's magical free kick took the cake.
In 2017, Harrison continued his brilliance, posting another impressive season for the 19/20-year-old at the time. He received rave reviews from world football legends and former NYCFC players Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo. Pirlo said, "He is very young, he's fast and he is capable of playing in Europe." The Italian midfielder was spot on, because Harrison departed from NYCFC and his American journey the next off-season. His 10 goal and 6 assist season got him signed to Premier League giants Manchester City, though he never actually took the field for them.
Harrison's first loan was to Middlesbrough back in 2018, but he only made 4 brief appearances there. He then went on loan to Leeds United for two separate stints, before finally moving there on a permanent transfer in the summer of 2021. Harrison made 208 total appearances at Leeds, scoring 34 goals from his winger position. In the 2021-2022 campaign, Harrison scored a season-saving goal that helped Leeds stay in the Premier League for 2022-2023. He made his best efforts to do the same exactly one year later, but his goal fell meaningless in a 4-1 loss to Tottenham. Here in the current day, Jack Harrison has left the newly-relegated side of the Championship to join Everton on a year-long loan back in the Prem. He did sign a five-year contract extension that runs through 2028 with Leeds United. The loan to Everton does not include an option to buy, but it does have a release clause that would bring Harrison to the club on a permanent basis. Everton beat out Aston Villa in a race for his loan rights. Jack Harrison's time in NYC was brief, but his pure talent and quality earn him the #99 spot.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2016 | NYC | 1,574 | 10 | 6 |
2017 | NYC | 2,757 | 4 | 7 |
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