‘Nobody Knows’ – Jack Harrison reveals what actually happened at Leeds United

Jack Harrison has broken his silence on his decision to leave Leeds United on loan to Everton in back-to-back summers.

Harrison was part of the infamous eight-man loan army that all departed on temporary deals 12 months ago in the wake of Leeds‘ relegation to the Championship.

Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober have since returned to give it a second go at Leeds, but alongside Rasmus Kristensen, Harrison once again took the option to leave on loan.

Robin Koch, Luis Sinisterra, Marc Roca and Diego Llorente have all now left permanently, and so there is a bit of added animosity towards Harrison when you consider how long he was at Elland Road.

He spent five years as a player at Leeds and was a key member of Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion winning team that should’ve kept him in the club’s folklore forever, but the manner of his exits mean that is no longer the case.

Harrison reveals what happened before Leeds exit

Harrison’s ability to leave on loan not just once, but twice, is made even more frustrating by the fact he was handed a new five-year-deal just a month before Leeds’ relegation.

The fault of the loan clauses does predominantly lay at the door of Victor Orta, but ultimately the player and his camp will have had a say, too.

Harrison actually the spent the majority of last summer at Leeds before joining Everton, as he spent the entirety of pre-season recovering from injury.

Now, in an interview with the Athletic, Harrison has shed more light on what actually 12 months ago, stating that he actually was suffering with some chronic injury issues in the final month of the season.

Harrison also added that he has ‘no regrets’ regarding the way he left even after being on the end of plenty of fan criticism.

He said: “I gave everything for the club. Even the last month or so, I was playing through an injury and delaying the operation just to try and do what I could to keep them up.

“I’m not sure anyone knows that but I tore my cartilage, my tendon in my groin. I had to get nails in over the summer to fix it but I wanted to push myself to the limit to help Leeds. It was probably the worst thing I’ve been through as a player.

“I was taking loads of painkillers and anti-inflammatories to try and reduce the pain. After the game, I’d feel even worse. If it had been at the start of the season, I’d have taken more time to do something about it.

“When summer came, it was really frustrating because we were relegated and I had this huge injury that needed an operation. Whatever the fans say, I have no regrets.”

Everton could still sign Harrison permanently this summer

Despite having already signed him on loan, there is a chance Everton still look to bring him in permanently this summer.

Everton have recently come into some money having sold Amadou Onana to Aston Villa for £50 million and are keen on signing Wilfried Gnonto from Leeds, too.

Speaking exclusively to LeedsUnited.News earlier this month, transfer expert Graeme Bailey says it is something Everton will address either before the end of the window, or in January.

“Yeah definitely, Harrison going permanently is something. Leeds didn’t push it too hard because they know Everton aren’t really in that position to do it just yet. But if that takeover gets done as they think it will be, even come January, you could see a permanent deal done for Harrison.”