Jack Harrison interview — FourFourTwo 4/4/26
Jack Harrison interview: New York to Florence, via Leeds and Liverpool, the winger speaks to Henry Winter about his well-stamped passport, Bielsa, NYC, and the future aged 29 and on loan at Fiorentina
By Henry Winter
The Englishman is enjoying his Italian exchange, despite
missing the atmospheres and stadiums back home
Florence is the perfect city for a renaissance. Jack
Harrison certainly hopes so. On loan at Fiorentina from Leeds United, the
29-year-old winger enjoys strolling through the famous city and meeting
enthusiastic La Viola fans.
“Some of the Ultras recognise me straight away,” Harrison
says, “and they're like, ‘die’, ‘die’ (come on, come on)! Let's go, andiamo’.
It's a nice energy!”
They can see Harrison working hard to help Fiorentina slowly
rise away from the fringes of the Serie A relegation zone and also to a Europa
Conference League quarter-final against Crystal Palace.
“It reminds me a little bit of New York, the energy and the
passion the people have here for the club and the way they chant in the
stadium,” Harrison says over Zoom from his apartment in Florence.
The Ultras in the Curva Fiesole of the Artemio Franchi
stadium make an impressive sight with their flags and scarves. “It’s definitely
special to see,” Harrison says.
Fiesole curve choreography for the celebration of 50 years
of the Ultras movement during the Italian Serie A football match between ACF
Fiorentina and Bologna FC ,on November 12 ,2023 at the Artemio-Franchi stadium
in Florence
He has settled swiftly. Harrison usually does. “I adapt
quickly,” he says. We first met when I was covering a game at New York City FC.
He was the English teenager who’d been in the academies of Liverpool and
Manchester United, decided to pursue another pathway overseas, and moved to the
Land of Opportunity aged 14.
Within four years, Harrison was sharing a locker room with
Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo at New York City FC. “Everyone makes a big deal
about me leaving my mum when I was 14 to go to New York, but I was more excited
about the journey,” Harrison continues.
“Ever since I was young, I've always loved travelling and
exploring. I like to think that I can go into any environment and find a way to
thrive and succeed.
“England is definitely home. I have my family there, and
that's the core roots of my history. I have a lot of strong ties in the US,
most of my friends are there. I always enjoy going back there for training in
the summer, meeting up again with all the friends. It’s a bit of a strange
dynamic, a mixture between the two (England and US).
“I know a lot of people in England that just want to stay
there for their whole lives, maybe go on holiday to Spain or Tenerife for a
week, and then they're happy to go back to England. For myself, I've always
liked to travel, so being open to this idea of coming to Italy, it's been
amazing so far, the weather, the food, and getting used to the language and
understanding that most people are around 15 minutes late for everything! It’s
much more laid-back than people in England!
“I hadn't actually travelled to Italy before, just one time
on a football trip with Man United academy to Milan. I'm trying to make the
most of it whilst I'm here. Florence is a beautiful city. Just walking around
the city, being around Piazzale Michelangelo is incredible.”
He visited the cathedral, the Duomo, in sad circumstances
when a funeral mass was held for the club’s late president, Rocco Commisso, on
January 26, 2026.
“Unfortunately, due to the president's passing, we had the
chance to go to the Duomo and be inside for the ceremony. His son (Giuseppe)
gave his speech inside the Duomo. I'd seen all the history and the artwork, but
to see it inside was unbelievable.”
He's determined to show respect by speaking then language.
“My Italian is improving day by day. They (Fiorentina) have been very helpful
with the translation, but I'm trying my best to immerse myself in the culture.
"I always like to show a bit of respect when you go
somewhere and learn the language, even if it's just small phrases, like, ‘good
morning, how are you?’”
He’s lived in some great cities: New York, Florence and
Liverpool for two seasons on loan at Everton. “And don't forget Leeds!”
Harrison certainly isn’t. “I miss the atmosphere of Elland Road. It's special.
I speak to David de Gea (Fiorentina’s keeper), and he always says that going to
Elland Road was incredible.
"A lot of people admire the environment there. They're
very passionate fans. When you have that energy, and everything's going well
around the stadium, it really does give you a boost.”
Harrison starts smiling when talk turns to his old Leeds
manager, Marcelo Bielsa, being back in England as head coach of Uruguay at
Wembley last Friday. “I was smiling because I just saw a video on Instagram of
Marcelo looking really well.”
A beaming Bielsa was being presented with the Cracovia shirt
of Mateusz Klich, one of his former Leeds players. “I saw his reaction to that!
My time with Marcelo was some of the best in my career in terms of
performance.”
Harrison joined Leeds as a 21-year-old in 2018, initially on
loan from Manchester City, New York City FC's bigger sibling. “I was young when
I first went there. It was a big shock to the system. Marcelo was so demanding
but sees so much detail within the game of football. I was playing my best
football under him. It was very tough with all the Murder-ball. I’m sure you've
heard about it.”
Murder-ball needs explaining. “It's a game basically,”
Harrison continues. “But everything is 100% per cent, and there are no fouls.
Maybe that's why they call it Murder-ball!
"A lot of the young kids used to run around some of the
older kids and the older guys would get pretty sick of it. So they just end up
kicking them. There were some bad tackles in there, but at the same time, if
you were attacking, it had to be 100%. If you were defending, it had to be
100%.
"On top of that, you've got all the coaches stood in
the middle shouting at you if you're not going 100%. Still, to this day, it’s
the hardest training I've ever had to do.”
Dani Ceballos of Arsenal is challenged by Jack Harrison of
Leeds United as Marcelo Bielsa, Manager of Leeds United looks on during the
Premier League match between Arsenal and Leeds United at Emirates Stadium on
February 14, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain
under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social
distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played
behind closed doors.
Harrison played one of his best games for Bielsa against
Liverpool at Anfield in 2020, scoring a superb solo goal. Unfortunately for
Leeds, Mo Salah struck a hat-trick as Liverpool won a classic 4-3. “You see his
impact in his stats and his records,” Harrison says of Salah.
“But also the way he is as a player. He has a lot of
humility. He works really hard and dedicates his life to being a good
professional. I admire him a lot. If I had a son, I’d want him to look up to
someone like him, just the way he applies himself, the influence that he's had.
It's been an incredible career.”
Harrison’s thoughts turn back to his own career. For all his
love for Leeds, Harrison needed to move. Daniel Farke’s shift to a five-man
defence limited the need for a winger even further.
Brenden Aaronson and Noah Okafor, Wilfried Gnonto and new
arrival Facundo Buonanotte blocked the pathway for Harrison. A loan made sense
for all parties. “It was a difficult start to the season,” Harrison reflects.
“It was something that I hadn't faced before in my career for an extended
period of time, just not playing.
“It’s very positive coming here. I’m getting more minutes
and playing in the Conference League has been an incredible experience,
travelling and playing, a small taste of what it would be like in the Champions
League.”
Fiorentina travel to Palace for the first leg on April 9.
“I'm definitely looking forward to being back in England and playing in a good
stadium like Selhurst Park,” Harrison says. Harrison was on the Elland Road
bench watching Leeds take Palace apart 4-1 in December. “If we do things the
right way, we can definitely expose Palace the same way that Leeds did. We have
a lot of quality.”
Harrison is contributing. “For me, being happy definitely
helps a lot. Players can be different. They can thrive in a situation of
pressure if they need to provide for family. I'm very ambitious as a player. I
want to continue impacting the game and the team the way I know I can. I've not
quite hit that yet. I'm still pushing to reach that goal and strive for that
level of performance before the end of the season.
The training ground (the Rocco B Commisso Viola Park) has
absolutely everything you can think of. It's probably like Man City or
Tottenham and all these new ones. It's a real joy to be there. It gives me
energy.
“There's a lot of positives about being here. The training
ground (the Rocco B Commisso Viola Park) has absolutely everything you can
think of. It's probably like Man City or Tottenham and all these new ones. It's
a real joy to be there. It gives me energy. They have the ‘ritiro’ (retreat)
the day before games. The Italian style is to spend a lot of time there and
then stay over. They have hotel rooms.
“Sometimes in England, a lot of players complain about going
to hotels, being away from the families, but for me, it's a real pleasure to be
there, with a spa downstairs. With the weather, you can sit outside and have a
coffee. The coffee's great here! The pitches are immaculate. It's a dream place
for me to train here. In Italy, we definitely do a lot more work on the
tactical side of things.”
He’s been closely following Italy’s progress in the World
Cup play-offs, partly because his team-mate Moise Kean is involved. The
four-time world champions got past Northern Ireland before facing Bosnia &
Herzegovina in the final.
“It’s definitely surprising,” Harrison says. “Everybody's
always got really high expectations for the Italian national team. Even just
being around Moises Kean and seeing how he's treated, almost seen as an icon,
not just by Fiorentina fans and everyone in the club, but also people from
different clubs, how they view him. They (Italian internationals) have a lot of
pressure on them.”
The pair have linked up promisingly for Fiorentina. Harrison
created a goal for Kean against Torino in February, sliding the ball into the
striker’s path. They didn’t cross paths at Everton, where both had loan spells,
Harrison in 23/24 and 24/25. Harrison enjoyed his time there, building a
connection with coach Leighton Baines. “I got pretty close to Leighton. We used
to have some nice conversations about football and tactics. As players, we're
probably quite similar in a lot of ways and how we apply ourselves to the game.
“I really enjoyed my time at Everton. Looking back, I
definitely hoped I could have had more of an impact on the pitch with more
goals (five) or assists (four).” He enjoyed playing for David Moyes.
“Definitely. When he came in, a lot of things changed, the dynamic, and we
finished the season really strong.”
So what of the future? Harrison’s Leeds contract runs until
2028. “Coming out here has opened my mind to a lot more possibilities. Just
being open and adaptable to go anywhere and to find that happiness. That's a
key thing for me. If I want to be playing at my best – which contributes a lot
towards happiness as well – I have to be somewhere where it's the best thing
for my happiness as well. Finding that place would be incredible. Wherever that
is, I'm not quite sure, but I'm open to possibilities.”
