Leeds United ‘gamechanger’ admits ‘complicated’ Aston Villa transfer snub

Leeds United winger Jack Harrison has admitted to a “long and complicated” snub of Aston Villa in the summer transfer window.

The forward was one of Unai Emery’s targets but he instead went to Everton on loan when an injury threw a spanner in the works.

Rather ironically, Harrison made his return to full fitness at Villa Park of all places as the Toffees dumped Emery’s men out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.

The player himself has confirmed the rumours were true and he could well have ended up at Villa if it wasn’t for a late stumbling block.

“There is a long story behind it,” Harrison told Liverpool Echo. “I think I have to sit down and explain it properly, I don’t want to say anything out of turn.

“It was a complicated situation and in the end I ended up at Everton and I was happy to go there. I saw the values of the club,” Harrison continued.

The 26-year-old played well on Wednesday, exposing an out-of-position John McGinn on the flank before being replaced by Dwight McNeil just beyond the hour mark.

Harrison’s display earned special praise from Everton manager Sean Dyche, who was surprised at how quickly the gamechanger got back up to speed.

“He has done fantastically well, he has only just had that game the other night with the development side and he said he felt fine, he said he was ready, and I believed him,” Dyche said.

“He looked ready, he was training freely. But to come in and play at this level with hardly any return to real football is very, very pleasing for me as a manager and him as a player.

“He is still getting fitter and sharper but it is not easy to come into these games and adapt tactically to deliver a performance. I was very impressed with him and his general professionalism.”

Whether it was Villa or Harrison who directed the summer transfer snub is unclear and it could well take the player’s “sit down” to confirm the details.

What is known, though, is Everton have a proven Premier League attacker on their books, whereas the Villans have an exciting Italian international in Nicolo Zaniolo instead.

Wednesday’s shock result aside, the complicated transfer saga seems to have worked out rather well for all parties involved.