Jack Harrison is synonymous with Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa. (imago Images)
According to BBC, Leeds United have signed Jack Harrison from Manchester City for £11m. The 24-year-old Englishman spent the last three seasons on loan at Elland Road.
Jack Harrison joined City from New York City FC in 2018 and was loaned out to Middlesbrough shortly after. He has failed to make an impact on the senior squad at the Etihad and has found a second home at Leeds under Marcelo Bielsa. And here, we see why a permanent move to Elland Road suits all parties.
The reason Leeds went for a deal permanent for Jack Harrison is because they have liked what they’ve seen of him for the past three seasons. He was an important part of their promotion push to the Premier League, playing every single game in the 2019/20 Championship season.
Both his durability and versatility were on display again in the latest Premier League season. He missed just two games throughout the course of the campaign, playing on the left flank as well as the right flank. The number of matches Bielsa gave him in a Leeds shirt over the past three years is the biggest indication of the faith Harrison commands from the Argentine.
Without Harrison, Leeds are short of players they can field on the left flank. They have two talented wingers in Helder Costa and Raphinha, but the duo plays primarily on the right-hand side.
At 24, he has a long way to go in his career and his peak years coming at Leeds would please their fans to a great extent. Even the terms surrounding the deal seem ideal with regards to the aforementioned transfer fee. Leeds had their first season in the top-flight under Bielsa, and they would have understood the Premier League is a different beast.
Adding players to the team is an important aspect for any Premier League club. For that, losing important first-team players is a situation all managers would want to avoid. Harrison is a player who is thriving under Bielsa.
The Leeds boss, speaking back in December 2019 (h/t Leeds Live), described how the Englishman is progressing with each passing season, and mentioned that his attention to detail would mean that he can become even better. So it makes all the sense in the world to keep the player and the manager together.
“The answer is in the question. He crosses better and he finishes better. In the last season, he used to cross worse and he used to finish worse than in this season. He has progressed a lot and it’s down to him, his progress. He is a very professional player, he works a lot. He is always looking at every detail and he is improving clearly.”
