Matt Kilgallon seems to have perfectly summed up Jack Harrison following Leeds United’s draw with Brighton on Saturday, telling BBC Radio Leeds (broadcast on 11/3; 16:57) that he is a special player, but has the potential to leave fans baffled with some of the decisions he makes.
Saturday certainly proved to be a day of mixed emotions for Harrison. He actually provided his sixth assist of the Premier League season to set up Patrick Bamford for the first Leeds equaliser.
And he went on to earn Javi Gracia’s men a point with an amazing strike into the top corner. But he was also the reason the Whites needed a second goal to earn a draw.
Kilgallon reacts to Harrison display
Harrison managed to somehow send the ball into his own net as he attempted to make a goalline clearance. The 26-year-old went with his left foot. And he ended up slicing his punt in under pressure from Solly March.
Harrison has been a frustrating figure for fans this season. Some of his decision-making is baffling at times. It is particularly annoying when you see what he is capable of doing when he is at his best.
Kilgallon was asked about his performance on Saturday. And he was full of praise for Harrison, but admitted that he would struggle to defend some of the things he ended up doing against the Seagulls.
“He’s a special player,” he told BBC Radio Leeds. “That’s on his right foot, he’s curled that in from 25 yards away. Not many people can do that. But then, on the other side, you sometimes go I don’t know what you’ve seen there. I’m not quite sure.
“I think with him, he’s a confidence player. When he’s playing well and everything’s great, he gets out of positions you never think he can get out of with the ball. But today, he did a couple of sloppy things. He knows that though. He knows that he’s got to be better. You could feel the fans were a little bit frustrated with him today, but he keeps going.
“I tell you what, he’s a dream for a full-back to play with. If you ask Firpo or Luke Ayling, I’ll tell you the one person they’d want in front is probably Harrison for how hard he works off the ball.”
The problem with Harrison is almost the fact that he can create these moments of magic which change games.
If he was not capable of that, you could write him off. But he is one of the only players who could produce that finish to make the score 2-2 against Roberto De Zerbi’s men.
It may surprise some to learn that he has eight goal contributions in the top-flight this season. Only Rodrigo has been involved in more.
It does not feel as though Harrison has been that influential. Admittedly, three of his assists came in the first three games.
But there is absolutely no question that if Leeds are going to drag themselves out of trouble, Harrison is going to have a big role to play.
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