MOT View: More than Messi and De Bruyne – Leeds ace among Europe’s elite in key stat
The bright start that Leeds United have made during the first half of the Premier League is down to a number of key individuals and Jack Harrison is certainly one of them.
While it may be Kalvin Phillips stealing the headlines or Patrick Bamford scoring the goals, Harrison has proved influential for the Whites in the top flight.
So much so, he currently ranks among Europe’s best for a total number of key passes this season.
According to Wyscout, Harrison has played the sixth most key passes (19) across Europe’s top five leagues this season.
Jack Grealish currently leads the way with 21, but Harrison is in esteemed company and currently ranks above the likes of Lionel Messi (17) and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (16).
Wyscout defines a key pass as: ‘A pass that immediately creates a clear goal-scoring opportunity for a teammate who in turn fails to score.’
This is also reflected in the fact that only Manchester City (28) have missed more big chances in the Premier League than Leeds (24) this season.
Ahead of their return to the Premier League, Sam Allardyce was among the many managers and pundits that expressed their concerns of how many goals Leeds would score in the top fight.
However, with Harrison in this kind of form – the likes of Bamford and Rodrigo will not be short of service in the final third.
It speaks of Harrison’s importance to this Leeds side, with only Bamford and Phillips ranking higher than the winger in WhoScored’s average match rating.
In the past, Harrison has spoken of his ‘mutual understanding‘ with Marcelo Bielsa and it shows that he is a place that the Leeds boss truly trusts.
With the likes of Raphinha and Rodrigo both joining the club over the summer, there could have been fair concerns about Harrison’s place in the side given his lack of top-flight experience.
However, the Manchester City loanee is proving his worth in the Premier League and if he continues in this rich vein of form, the updated fee of £10million to sign him permanently at the end of the season is going to look like a very smart piece of business.
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