Noel Whelan has suggested that he believes Jack Harrison featured regularly for Leeds this season because of a potential agreement with loan club Manchester City.
Harrison made 42 appearances for Leeds in the Championship this campaign, including 34 starts, as Marcelo Bielsa’s side finished in third place in the English second tier before losing to Derby County in the play-off semi-finals.
However, despite being given consistent game time Harrison only registered four goals and four assists for Leeds this season, and the 22-year-old produced some inconsistent displays at times for Bielsa’s side.
Whelan was critical of the winger’s inconsistent displays, and suggested that he believes the 22-year-old only featured so heavily for Leeds this term, due to Manchester City making sure there was a clause in his contract, when he joined the Whites on loan, that would guarantee him game time.
“We have seen the best of Jack Harrison, but we’ve also seen the worst of him. We have seen him flit in and out of games. He has talent, but he doesn’t use that talent consistently,” Whelan who covers Leeds as a pundit told the Football Insider.
“He probably realises he can do better and is a better player. He certainly can’t complain about the lack of opportunities at Leeds.”
“There was probably something in the loan contract stipulating that he needed to play a certain number of games. Otherwise, Man City wouldn’t have loaned him out. That may seem strange but was probably part of the deal.”
OPINION
Whelan is right to suggest that Harrison has struggled with consistency at times throughout his season-long loan from Manchester City. The winger did produce some good displays for Bielsa’s side this season, but they were separated by some frustrating performances as well. It is possible as Whelan suggests that Manchester City might have included a clause in the 22-year-old’s contract that ensured he would be given regular game time at Elland Road this campaign. However, Leeds did suffer from injury problems throughout the season and Bielsa only had a small squad to chose from, making it likely that Harrison was going to be used consistently to fill gaps in his squad even if he was not at his best. It will be interesting to see if Leeds elect to attempt to re-sign Harrison this summer, with Bielsa, if he remains in charge, looking to add some more strength in depth to his squad to get Leeds competing for promotion to the Premier League again next season.