It was the matchday at Turf Moor with Burnley facing Everton at home, and the spotlight was at the away end. Debbie Harrison, Jack Harrison’s mom, can be found calling out to her son in the middle of the chanting crowd.
What makes it an interesting story though, is the end bit of the video where a fan asks Harrison’s mom, “Don’t go back to Leeds,” and she replies with an emphatic “Oh fucking not, no”.
Jack Harrison, currently playing for Everton as a right-winger, is on loan from the recently relegated Leeds United side, which gives more context as to why Leeds fans might not be a fan of that comment. This, as you can imagine, has left the Leeds fans rattled and they have started to turn on her.
“His mum is showing zero respect to the club that actually made him”, a fan claims, referring to the player’s long stint at Leeds, on loan from Manchester City, as well as as a Leeds signee where he actually entered the limelight with 200+ appearances for the club while scoring 35+ goals . Leeds fans in general can be seen showing dissent towards the situation on social media now.
Jack Harrison, is a UK (Stoke-on Trent) born English winger who had moved to the United States as a teenager having played for both Liverpool and Manchester United academies.
As for his club career, he started his professional journey with New York City FC in 2016 before signing for the partner club Manchester City FC in 2018. He played on loan at Leeds for 3 years and helped them advance to the Premier League while making a name for himself.
It was then that he was signed by the Leeds side permanently in 2021. Very recently, in April 2023, the young lad had signed a new, 5-year deal to keep him at the club till 2028.
The catch, however, was a relegation clause that was put in the deal. It allowed him to leave on loan in the event of relegation from the Premier League owing to which he is now with the Everton team on loan, and the Toffees fans seem to be loving every moment with him.
Jack’s mom has been his most vocal supporter throughout his career and has made a point of being in the supporter’s stand whenever she can. Not only in the Everton games now but even during his NYFC days, all through to the Leeds stint, she could be found cheering on for her son. So, this occasion was nothing new or a one of special. She is known to gel well with the supporters.
Although Leeds fans are not happy about the new development but most are trying to be civil about it and trying to find a logical explanation as to why Debbie might have said such a thing.
One fan has attributed it to the last minute back down incident from the Leeds camp, regarding sending Harrison on loan to Leicester, that happened on the transfer deadline day this year.
Others have attributed it to the dislike for the player in the Leeds fanbase itself, which no mother would appreciate, especially seeing as how nicely the Everton fans are treating him.
On the other end of the spectrum, some fans even have expressed relief that Jack’s mom has confirmed that he is not coming back and that they have been saved.
most of us dont want him back so feel free to stump up the cash and keep him.
Whatever the reason for the comment, this much is for sure, that these words have not gone down well with the Leeds fanbase and they probably expect an apology or a clarification from Debbie for things to simmer down.
After all, Jack is still a Leeds player and football fans don’t appreciate player or player’s relatives talking bad things about their clubs. We have already seen many cases of this even with high profile players like Neymar not being spared by the fans when his dad talked about problems at Barcelona.
As for Jack Harrison, he seems to be fitting well at Everton and might find a permanent home amongst that crowd. There is no option to buy for Everton but some of the fans are hoping that Leeds doesn’t get promoted to Premier league so that they have more of a chance of grabbing the player for cheap. For now, there is only one way of acquiring the player which is through the payment of the release clause.
