Jack Harrison: More Of The Same (In A Good Way)
Everton's newest loanee brings a lot to like, but a major issue looms over his arrival
The necessary depth adds for Everton continued Monday, with Leeds United winger Jack Harrison agreeing to a season long loan. Harrison’s impact won’t be immediate, as he’s got a hip injury keeping him out until October.
Bringing Harrison to Merseyside is important from a roster standpoint. Rumors are swirling around Demarai Gray’s squad status, especially in light of Harrison being assigned Gray’s kit number. Fellow Leeds winger Wilfried Gnoto is embroiled in transfer drama still, with Everton wanting his signature. Dwight McNeil being out for weeks and Arnaut Danjuma not being starting fit yet forced James Garner to play out wide in Saturday’s 1-nil loss to Fulham. There’s a real chance Sean Dyche won’t have his first choice starting XI until about Halloween at this rate.
It’s worth asking what Harrison brings to the Toffees when healthy. In three Premier League seasons, Harrison has 21 goals and 16 assists in 107 appearances. His five goals last season would have him tied for second on Everton with Abdoulaye Doucoure, his seven assists for first with Alex Iwobi. There’s little question the 26-year-old will bring quality to Everton’s squad, one in desperate need of such.
One of Harrison’s more regarded qualities is chance creation. Last season Harrison averaged 3.79 Shot Creating Actions per 90. That ranks him second among regular Everton players, only behind McNeil for 22/23. His raw SCA was 114, second behind Iwobi. Looking at Goal Creating Actions per 90, Harrison’s 0.30 puts him third among last year’s regular Everton squad members, slightly behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin (0.31) and ahead of Iwobi (0.24).
Harrison fills a hole in which Everton struggled last year: quality on set pieces. Per WhoScored.com, Everton had the fourth fewest goals off set pieces. That combined with being tied for fourth fewest shot attempts off free kicks and bottom half in corner kicks earned signals they were poor in this area. Enter Harrison, who has these numbers from last season:
Add a 78th percentile SCA on dead ball passes last year, and Everton has a new weapon when it comes to improving their out of play goals.
It’s not just about offense, however. Defense matters for modern wingers, and it matters a lot to Dyche. In Harrison’s first interview released by the club, he mentions his work ethic and desire to put in shifts. That matches up with his scouting report from last year:
With only four goals last season for Everton on the counterattack, a player of Harrison’s quality generating turnovers could spark new opportunities on the fast break. Even more important though is that defense prowess, which will let Dyche play him in critical late game situations. Considering how often Everton has faced late and tight over the last two campaigns, that’s quite valuable.
Notice the names Iwobi and McNeil keeps coming up in this analysis. It’s not a coincidence, as we see on Harrison’s FBRef Similar Players:
Harrison appears to be the Everton embodiment of the “If I like it, I’ll just grab it in a different color” meme. Which tracks, considering Iwobi and McNeil were both quite good for Everton last season. Investing in that profile makes sense. A challenge for teams at every level is keeping your identity when player availability is a struggle. In adding Harrison to the squad, Dyche gets a familiar profile with Premier League experience and some goals in his bag. Yes, flexibility of play matters but for a team struggling to have a single style establishing consistency is more important.
Finding Harrison a spot in the Everton starting eleven allows for some flowing creativity. Reports say he’s out until October, and with Dyche taking care over returning players it might be November before Harrison starts. That means there’s a good chance the Toffees’ squad will be close to full strength. As we know it today, here’s an idea of what that could look like:
It’s similar to how Everton sets up now, just with Harrison in for McNeil when both are healthy. If Dyche wants to play something similar, but a bit higher up the pitch for his wingers there’s a solution for that as well:
This drops Gueye into a defensive midfield spot, which is more befitting his skills. Onana could also occupy that spot in Gueye’s absence, with Garner coming in to that other eight role. Same if Dyche wants to move Doucoure out of the lineup for any reason. Meanwhile Harrison would be in a more forward position, with the thought of generating better chances and in position to knock second chance balls home.
Since the meme is Dyche loves the old 4-4-2, let’s envision that idea as well:
This iteration is up for debate. Youssef Chermiti is a project striker and playing him behind Calvert-Lewin would be good experience. That said the second striker spot might be better given to someone like Neal Maupay who while not a great finisher can distribute and play as a pseudo ten. That could also be a place where someone like Doucoure, McNeil, or even Harrison might get some run. If Thursday’s rumors about Everton wanting Southampton’s Che Adams are true, his fit behind DCL in this setup would be more ideal.
Figuring out who plays ahead of Harrison on the pitch is critical. In Saturday’s loss Everton posted 19 shots, with nine on target and a 2.73 xG. It wasn’t chance creation but finishing the issue against the Cottagers. If Harrison creates first-rate goal opportunities but nobody is there to score them, does it matter that they exist?
It’s ultimately why despite the Harrison signing being good for many reasons, it can’t reach the full potential without more help. More attacking help, particularly at striker, is necessary to unlock Harrison and the rest of the attacking unit’s abilities. The constant churn of rumors about potential signings are encouraging, but last January showed rumors don’t guarantee action. Another striker is necessary not just for staving off relegation, but for the long-term recovery of the club.
Harrison’s signing is a positive signal from the front office. This is the type of business Everton should be doing in their current state. It’s a divergence from the blowtorching money ways of the past, and a good one at that. It’ll be on Harrison to make the deal worthwhile, but this line of thinking shows things are slowly turning positive at Finch Farm.