Playing position 2003–2010 Manchester United Height 1.75 m Parents Debbie Harrison | Number 11 2013–2015 Manhattan Soccer Club Weight 70 kg | |
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Date of birth (1996-11-20) 20 November 1996 (age 20) Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England Current team New York City FC (#11 / Midfielder) Nominations MLS Rookie of the Year Award Similar Thomas McNamara, Khiry Shelton, R J Allen, Josh Saunders, Ronald Matarrita Profiles | ||
Jack Harrison (born 20 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for New York City FC in Major League Soccer. He was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft and was rated as the second best player in MLS under the age of 24 the same year.
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Academy and youth
Harrison was born in Stoke-on-Trent and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester, where he spent seven years in the academy system at Manchester United. He moved to the United States at the age of 14 and attended Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
New York City
In December 2015, reports emerged that New York City were attempting to claim Harrison as a homegrown player due to him playing with NYCFC youth affiliate Manhattan Soccer Club for the prior three years, allowing them to sign him before the draft. However this claim was rejected by MLS, and Harrison entered the 2016 MLS SuperDraft as the youngest available player. On 14 January 2016, he was selected as the #1 overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire and traded to New York City for the #4 overall pick and allocation money. Shorty after the draft it was discovered that Harrison had a fractured pelvic bone which left him on the sidelines for the first three months of his NYCFC career.
Harrison made his professional debut on 21 May 2016 as a 57th-minute substitute for Thomas McNamara in a 0–7 loss against New York Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium. Harrison's individual performance was described as a "silver lining" for his side. Harrison became the first teenage scorer for New York City FC when he scored his first professional goal on his first professional start against Real Salt Lake at Yankee Stadium on 2 June 2016. On 3 July 2016, Harrison scored the opener in the Hudson River Derby putting in a man of the match performance as NYCFC recorded their first win over the New York Red Bulls. At the end of the season, Harrison was nominated for, but ultimately did not win, the MLS Rookie of the Year Award losing out to Jordan Morris. Harrison was also the runner up for the 2016 MLS Goal of the Year Award losing out to Shkëlzen Gashi.