Meet Jack Harrison, the former Manchester United youngster and team-mate of Marcus Rashford set to make his England Under-21s debut this week
NEW YORK CITY FC star Jack Harrison’s success is yet further proof that mum does know indeed best.
The 20-year-old midfielder was called into Aidy Boothroyd’s England Under-21 squad for the first time this week, capping a remarkable season for the Stoke-on-Trent native.
It could all have been very different for Harrison, though.
At 14-years-old he decided to leave Manchester United’s academy to pursue a career in Major League Soccer – and it was his mum Debbie’s idea.
Our friends at Football Whispers look at the remarkable career so far of the Young Lions’ latest call-up.
Harrison’s is the path less trodden.
A teenager in Manchester United’s famous academy, the young midfielder counted Marcus Rashford, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and James Wilson among his peers.
All three have gone on to appear for the Red Devils with Rashford playing a starring role for Jose Mourinho’s men.
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But Harrison, pushed by his mum, decided his best chance was to move to the States to study at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
“My mum presented the idea to me,” Harrison said last May. “On my visit I knew straight away it was a place I wanted to be.
“We were looking for a different path – my mum was worried about my education and she wanted me to go somewhere so I had something to fall back on if I got injured or something went wrong in my career.”
They needn’t have worried.
In December 2015 reports emerged that Harrison had signed for New York City FC as a homegrown player on account of the fact he’d played for NYCFC’s youth affiliate Manhattan Soccer Club.
But that did not wash with MLS’ governing body and Harrison instead entered the SuperDraft – the youngest player to do so that year.
He was duly selected by Chicago Fire in January 2016 but immediately traded to New York for the fourth overall pick and allocation money.
It was something of a false start for Harrison, though, as his first three months with NYCFC were hampered by a pre-existing pelvic injury.
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom.
Being injured meant spending time with Chelsea legend Frank Lampard who was also undergoing rehab at the same time as Harrison.
“It was frustrating being out for so long. It was a new experience for me,” said Harrison.
“It was a tough one but the staff helped me become comfortable around the club and it was great getting to know Frank in that time.
“It's a dream come true. I grew up watching Frank on TV and I always dreamed of playing alongside players like that.”
And Lampard was not the only bona fide superstar Harrison shared the NYCFC locker room with. World Cup winners David Villa and Andrea Pirlo were and still are on the books.
“It still amazes me that I get to see these players every day – just to be around them is amazing and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be at this club,” he said.
Having waited patiently for his debut, Harrison was introduced as a substitute in the Hudson Bay Derby fixture against New York Red Bulls – the more established of the city’s teams.
That was another forgettable day as NYCFC were trounced 7-0.
Another Briton, Bradley Wright-Phillips, brother of Shaun and step son of Arsenal legend Ian Wright, netted twice in a crushing win.
But, steadily, New York City improved under the guidance of former Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira.
Harrison finished his first season in the Big Apple having made 23 MLS appearances and scored four times, missing out on the Rookie of the Year Award to Jordan Morrison and the Goal of the Year gong to Shkelzen Gashi.
International recognition was on the agenda. But not with England. “I try not to think about it too much,” Harrison said in another interview in 2016.
“Obviously, it would be great to represent my country, England, but if the interest is not there, I’d be happy to represent America, and I’d be open to that.”
The 2017 campaign has seen Harrison go from strength to strength and establish himself as one of New York’s key players, scoring ten times in 31 outings to help his team qualify for the end of season play-offs.
Now the decision over who he will represent at international level looks to have been taken out of Harrison’s hands after being selected by the Young Lions for games against Scotland and Andorra this month.
But if full international honours await, the midfielder’s decision making so far has been impeccable and you wouldn’t bet against him making the right call again – even without Mum pushing him in the right direction this time.