Leeds United fans know from experience that, when it comes to Jack Harrison, you’d better be ready to take the rough with the smooth.
On a few occasions every season, the now-on loan Everton winger will cut inside and curl an inch-perfect finish into the top corner. Every few weeks, he will tie a full-back in knots with a mazy dribble on the flank.
But, when his radar is a little off, when his shoelaces are tied together, Jack Harrison will canter down cul-de-sacs, skew crosses into the ankles of a nearby defender, and slice his shots into the Gwaldys Street stands.
With no goals and no assists from 17 games across 2024/25, it’s fair to say the Everton faithful have seen more of the early-days-at-Elland Road Harrison, rather than the one who was briefly tipped for an England call-up after helping Leeds United take the Premier League by storm under Marcelo Bielsa.
Yet, there is a reason why Harrison tends to feature in Everton’s XI more often than not. And, usually, ahead of £19 million man Jesper Lindstrom.
Even on those off-days, no one could ever accuse Harrison of failing to do his defensive duties. And, given that the gravel-voiced Sean Dyche is a manager who tends to err on the side of perspiration over inspiration, he and Harrison do feel like a match made in tactical heaven.
Leeds United loanee Jack Harrison is key to Sean Dyche’s Everton approach
“When I got here [at Everton], I did say that it was about respecting the past and building for the future,” Dyche tells a press conference ahead of this week’s Boxing Day trip to a vulnerable Manchester City.
“With respect to the past, there have been teams here that gave their lot. I know that from being a youngster watching, and then during the [David] Moyes era, they always had a team that had an edge to them. A hardy edge to work for each other and for the badge and for the club.
Few players epitomise those Moysian-inspired principles of Everton Football Club better than Harrison.
Dyche has been impressed by the way Lindstrom – who The Toffees can sign permanently next year from Napoli in a deal just shy of £20 million – has embraced the challenge at Goodison Park.
But, still, Harrison remains the benchmark.
Interestingly, Dyche also feels that the one-time Liverpool youngster has developed the ‘tactical understanding’ to play in a more central, number ten role of late.
Given that some on the Elland Road terraces have been crying out for an attacking midfielder to play behind the striker – even if Brenden Aaronson ran the show in the Oxford United thrashing on Saturday – Harrison’s evolution provides some food for thought.
Harrison ‘up there with the best’ as he keeps Napoli ace out of Everton XI
“I’ve been trying to instil that [work ethic],” the former Burnley boss adds. “And it is good for me to see someone as technically strong as Jesper doing a shift, doing the job that’s needed.
“That’s a job that he needs [to do] because he’s a technical player. He wants to try and create things and score goals and cross it and whatever, and yet he’s doing the hard yards in front of Seamus [Coleman, the veteran right-back].
“What about the work that fans don’t see? What about the work that we see and that your teammates see? That’s a really powerful thing in-house. It’s good to see them guys coming up and going; ‘right. I’m ready to do the shift’.
“Jack Harrison has his question marks, he does an enormous shift. His tactical understanding is excellent. He’s up with the best. Put him in the number ten and he knows the role. Put him out wide and he knows the role, without shadow of a doubt.”
This is Harrison’s second successive season on loan at Everton.
Speaking exclusively to LeedsUnited.News, transfer expert Graeme Bailey says that Everton are yet to make a decision on whether to sign the 28-year-old permanently.
The Toffees’ takeover, plus Leeds’ potential return to the Premier League under Daniel Farke, only adds to the uncertainty.
