After Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship at the end of last season, a whole host of first-team stars inevitably left the club. There were permanent exits for Tyler Adams (Bournemouth) and Rodrigo (Al-Rayyan), while the likes of Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Max Wober (Borussia Monchengladbach), Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Luis Sinisterra (Bournemouth), Marc Roca (Real Betis) and Rasmus Kristensen and Diego Llorente (both Roma) left on initial loans.
Another inclusion on that list was Jack Harrison, but his loan move to Everton didn’t include an option to buy, raising the possibility that he hadn’t played his last game for the Whites.
How the Premier League bottom six looked in 22/23 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Team | Pts | GD |
15 | Bournemouth | 39 | -34 |
16 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | -30 |
17 | Everton | 36 | -23 |
18 | Leicester City | 34 | -17 |
19 | Leeds United | 31 | -30 |
20 | Southampton | 25 | -37 |
Harrison made the move to Goodison Park in the midst of tension between the two clubs as Leeds pushed the Premier League to take immediate action against the Blues amid an investigation into breaches of financial rules.
Harrison exit left a “sour taste”
Speaking to MOT Leeds News, BBC pundit and former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson suggested that neither Daniel Farke nor the Elland Road faithful would have much appetite to reintegrate Harrison if he did return this summer.
“Yeah it left a sour taste the way that the move came about, especially to Everton as well, but that aside I think he’s done well this season in an Everton team that’s been efficient. He plays a role in that Sean Dyche side.
“They’re clearly going to have to sell some of their better players to be able to accumulate [so] whether Jack’s one they want to accumulate once players have gone out the door [we’ll see].
“But I think others will be looking at him. It doesn’t look like Farke would want to integrate him back into a Leeds squad, and he would have a lot of work to do with the fanbase, goalscoring-wise etc., to win the fans back over.
“A move for him does look likely, but it’s hugely, hugely important as to what league Leeds are in, because he carries a different value as a Championship player than he does as a Premier League player.”
Leeds should focus on maximising fee
It’s recently been reported that Harrison himself isn’t interested in the idea of moving back to West Yorkshire, instead angling for a permanent switch to Everton after “settling well” at Goodison Park. Even if high-flying Leeds are promoted, it won’t change his thinking.
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For Leeds, then, the focus from here should be on earning as high a fee as possible, and they look to be in a strong position. Harrison has become a valuable player for Sean Dyche at Everton, starting 18 top-flight games and ranking eighth in the squad for minutes played. Only one player – Abdoulaye Doucoure (seven) – has been directly involved in more goals than his six.
Still in his theoretical prime at 27 and under contract until 2028, the £90k-per-week man should be able to command a fee in the region of £17m, according to the CIES Football Observatory’s model. That would be the sixth-most lucrative departure in Leeds’ history, and a positive result for all parties involved.
