Everton have re-signed former Newcastle United transfer target Jack Harrison on a season-long loan deal from Leeds United.
The 27-year-old scored four goals in 35 appearances for the Toffees last term. And after Leeds failed to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, Harrison has been allowed to return to Goodison Park.
It’s understood the Merseyside club have an option to make the deal permanent next year. He becomes their second summer signing following Tim Iroegbunam’s arrival from Aston Villa.
Harrison told Everton’s club website: “It’s brilliant to be back. Everton is a great club, there is a fantastic group of lads here and I’m excited to get started again with a full pre-season of training.
“Last year, I had a lot of enjoyment at the Club. We had to face a lot of adversity but we were able to continue on and have a good season overall.
“There are a lot of reasons for wanting to return to Everton. I think the Club in general – the fans, the staff, the manager, my teammates – everyone made me feel really comfortable right away and that’s somewhere you want to be as a player. It’s a great place to play football.
“The other thing is I know I have a lot more to offer. That’s extra motivation for me to go back and prove to myself and to Everton Football Club that I can do more on the pitch. This season I’ll be able to have a full pre-season and hopefully hit the ground running.”
It was only two years ago Newcastle attempted to sign Harrison. Leeds reportedly rejected bids in the region of £20million before their chief executive Angus Kinnear appeared to poke fun at the Magpies’ pursuit.
“We have rebuffed numerous offers for players that are still core to our playing strategy, including one that, based on its value, was only for Jack Harrison’s right leg,” Kinnear wrote in a matchday programme.
Six months later, United turned their attention to Anthony Gordon and forked out £45million to bring the now England international to St James’ Park from Everton.
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