Jack Harrison

Jack David Harrison (born 20 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Everton, on loan from club Leeds United.

Harrison moved to the United States as a teenager having played in the academies of both Liverpool and Manchester United.

Harrison is one of four overseas players to move to the U.S. for high school and win Gatorade National Player of the Year on the men's side, all since 2012.

Harrison signed a National Letter of Intent to play college soccer for Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In 2015, Harrison was the Gatorade National Player of the Year for high-school soccer.

During the 2015 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, he made 22 appearances with Wake Forest, scoring eight goals, and providing 11 assists.

He signed for New York City in a deal that involved youth agent Jono Simpson.

In December 2015, reports emerged that New York City were attempting to claim Harrison as a homegrown player because he had played with club youth affiliate Manhattan Soccer Club for the previous three years, allowing them to sign him before the draft.

His performances for Wake Forest Demon Deacons saw him selected as the #1 overall pick by New York City FC in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft and was rated as the second best player in MLS under the age of 24 the same year.

However this claim was rejected by MLS, and Harrison entered the 2016 MLS SuperDraft as the youngest available player.

On 14 January 2016, he was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire and traded to New York City for the fourth overall pick, Brandon Vincent, plus payment.

Shortly after the draft it was discovered that Harrison had a fractured pelvic bone which left him on the sidelines for the first three months of his New York City career.

Harrison made his professional debut on 21 May 2016 as a 57th-minute substitute for Thomas McNamara in a 0–7 loss against New York Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium.

Harrison's individual performance was described as a "silver lining" for his side.

Harrison became the first teenage scorer for the club when he scored his first professional goal on his first professional start against Real Salt Lake at Yankee Stadium on 2 June.

On 3 July, Harrison scored the opener in the Hudson River Derby in a man of the match performance as New York City recorded their first win over the Red Bulls.

At the end of the season, Harrison was nominated for, but ultimately did not win, the MLS Rookie of the Year Award, which went to Jordan Morris of the Seattle Sounders FC.

Harrison was also the runner up for the 2016 MLS Goal of the Year Award, which went to Shkëlzen Gashi of the Colorado Rapids.

In March 2017, Harrison and NYCFC teammates Eirik Johansen and Rónald Matarrita earned U.S. green cards.

Harrison scored his first goal of the new season on 1 April, in a 2–1 win over San Jose Earthquakes.

On 29 April, he recorded his first professional multi-goal performance, scoring a brace to secure a 3–2 victory over Columbus Crew.

Harrison also scored the game-winning opener in a 2–0 victory against New York Red Bulls to give the club its first ever win at Red Bull Arena on 24 June.

Ahead of his move to Manchester City, Harrison was praised by former teammate Andrea Pirlo, who said of Harrison 'He is very young, he's fast and he is capable of playing in Europe.

He's a good player.' and another former teammate Frank Lampard who said 'I think there a lot of big things to come from Jack.

I like him, he's a great lad, great ability.'

In 2018 he signed for Premier League club Manchester City.

He was briefly loaned to Middlesbrough before spending three years on loan with Leeds United, finally joining the club on a permanent deal in 2021.

Whilst playing in the MLS, Harrison was called up to the England U21 and was capped twice.

Harrison was born in Stoke-on-Trent and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester where he attended Harwood Meadows Primary School and then Turton Secondary School.

Harrison spent a short time at the Liverpool academy as a seven-year-old but eventually opted to attend Manchester United's academy, where he spent seven years.

At age 14, Jack made the decision to leave the Manchester United academy to attend Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts, also representing their affiliated club team, Black Rock FC.

On 30 January 2018, Harrison signed for Premier League side Manchester City, a partner club with his previous side New York City as part of the City Football Group, signing a contract running until the conclusion of the 2020–21 season.

After Harrison's initial loan spell to Leeds United, he returned to Manchester City.

Leeds were keen to sign Harrison permanently; however, it was reported that his parent club had put a £20 million valuation on him.

He made his first appearance for Middlesbrough on 17 February 2018, in the 83rd minute of a 1–0 loss to Cardiff City.

He made 4 appearances for Middlesbrough in total, being unable to displace the regular wingers Adama Traoré and Stewart Downing.

On 1 July 2019, Harrison agreed a new one-year contract extension to his contract at Manchester City.

On 27 June 2019, it was announced that Harrison was in talks with Leeds United to re-sign on another season long loan deal.

City again loaned Harrison to Leeds for a third successive season with a view to make the move permanent the next year.

Immediately after signing a contract with City, Harrison was loaned out to Championship club Middlesbrough, under the management of recently appointed manager Tony Pulis.