England, Newcastle United and a new contract are the talking points which have surrounded Jack Harrison across the past six months, yet even starting for Leeds United may be in question this weekend. The 25-year-old has not been directly involved in a goal since the Chelsea demolition and his place is under serious threat now.
Crysencio Summerville finally made the step up on Saturday night in a big moment for the Whites and he suddenly becomes a very hard player for Jesse Marsch to drop. Should Luis Sinisterra return to contention for Bournemouth’s visit, as everyone hopes, there’s a tough decision for Marsch down the flanks.
Harrison’s a piece of the furniture at Elland Road and has established himself since 2018 as a big part of the club’s return to the Premier League. Only four members of the current squad have played more games and he recently went beyond the likes of Lee Chapman and Pablo Hernandez in the appearance charts.
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Coming out of last season’s miserable campaign, Harrison’s nine goal involvements were only bettered by Raphinha, underlining his importance to the cause. It was a summer which drew transfer speculation with the Magpies and Tottenham Hotspur before a promising start in August drew tentative England talk.
The underlying statistics have been there for Harrison. Only 14 players in the entire division have produced more shot-creating actions than him, but he has not caught the eye with his all-round performance for weeks.
The team as a whole have not produced the results and this is not on Harrison, but his decline in effectiveness on the field is opening the door for the improving Summerville. Marsch has backed the Dutch forward since the summer with Raphinha’s old number 10 shirt and the green light on Daniel James’s loan exit.
To stand by him through a full debut against Leicester City, a consolation against Fulham and then 90 minutes which led to a winning goal at Anfield, means Marsch cannot now drop Summerville with his confidence through the roof. As he grew into the game on Merseyside, you could see the improvement from the 21-year-old.
The winger backed himself in duels, made interceptions, tracked back, ran at defenders and played his part in attacking patterns with the likes of Wilfried Gnonto. If Sinisterra, arguably the team’s best attacker this season, is fit, Marsch has a massive call on his hands.
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