How is Jack Harrison getting on away from Manchester City?

Since signing for Manchester City from New York City FC in 2018, Jack Harrison has seen his first-team opportunities basically at zero.

The summer of the 2018/19 season saw Harrison complete a loan move to Leeds United, before re-joining last summer for another season, after an impressive first stint. This time, the deal that saw Harrison join the Whites has the option for his loan club to make the move permanent next summer.

So far this season, Harrison has been an ever-present in all competitions for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, making 17 appearances in league and cup. In that time, he has mostly operated on the left-wing but recently gave an impressive showing whilst filling in at left-wing-back against QPR on Saturday.

Harrison started the season somewhat slowly compared to the expectations he set in pre-season, he scored in the opening game, but it took until the first day of October for the winger to set up a goal when his pass teed up Gjanni Alioski’s deflected strike against West Brom.

Since then, Harrison has been contributed to every single goal the Whites have scored, registering four assists in a row before scoring a goal of his own on Saturday.

Before this purple patch, Harrison came in for a lot of criticism due to the lack of cutting edge he demonstrated in the final third, whether that be a poor choice made or just poor execution. He was one of many players contributing to this issue Leeds faced but since the victory against West Brom, the on-loan winger has turned a corner and began to show much more efficiency in the opposition area.

His most recent outing was a prime example of the improvement he has made this season. His assist came when driving into a crowded penalty area, but chose not to put a hopeful cross in and waited for an opening, to which Tyler Roberts drifted back to receive a quick pass from Harrison and fire into the corner.

Harrison’s goal came as a symptom of his own endeavour when a slightly miss-placed pass saw a defender intercept the ball right back into his path where he coolly slotted past the QPR ‘keeper.

From a Manchester City perspective, it would be unlikely to see Harrison’s performances in a white shirt and think he warrants a place in their star-studded attack, but this loan move has proven he has a place in a promotion-chasing side and possibly in the top-tier.