Having had him on their list of summer transfer targets, Everton moved to sign Jack Harrison from Leeds United on a season-long loan in August 2023.
The Stoke-born wide man had developed a reputation as one of the Yorkshire club's best players as they were promoted back to the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa's swashbuckling tenure in 2020 and he remained as such during their three-year stay in the top flight before they were relegated back to the Championship on the same day in May 2023 that Everton stayed up by beating Bournemoth.
A late move by Aston Villa almost derailed the Toffees' bid to sign Harrison after both clubs activated a clause in his contract allowing him to leave Elland Road on an initial loan should Leeds lose their Premier League status. However, Villa under new boss, Unai Emery, were seeking a player able to immediately replace the injured Emiliano Buendia but Harrison was carrying a hip injury at the time that was expected to sideline him for anywhere from three to five weeks.
Harrison began his career in the United States after entering the Major League Soccer draft in 2015, being drafted by Chicago Fire and then being traded to New York City FC where he made 55 appearances before moving to sister club Manchester City in January 2018.
He immediately joined Middlesbrough on loan but only played four games and was then loaned to Leeds for three successive seasons starting in the summer of 2018, making 118 League appearances and scoring 18 times, before City eventually agreed to sell him in 2021 for £11m.
Harrison's importance to Leeds was underscored by the fact that he finished third top scorer for them in 2021 with eight goals and second top scorer the following season with the same tally, including a 90th-minute winner at Brentford on the final day that kept Leeds up at Burnley's expense. He scored just six times in 2022-23, however, as Leeds lost their battle to stay in the top division.
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