Sports Illustrated have reported that Stoke City are targeting the services of New York City winger, Jack Harrison and have already placed a bid of $4.5m. This bid was sent over after the initial $3m was rejected by the MLS outfit.
Jack Harrison started his footballing career in the youth ranks of Liverpool and Manchester United before shifting to the United States at the age of 14. He played for Manhattan Soccer Club for three years before entering the 2016 MLS Draft where he was chosen as the number 1 overall pick by the Chicago Fire.
An injury to the pelvic bone saw him get traded to New York City for a certain amount of allocation fee where he made his debut in the club’s 0-7 loss to New York Red Bulls on 21st May 2016. The 21-year-old has been lighting the league on fire ever since his arrival and was nominated to win the Rookie Of The Year.
With 14 goals in 61 outings for the Pigeons, Harrison is one of the hottest young prospects for the England national team. He has been capped for the U21 side and in order to compete for a spot in the senior team a move to the Premier League is highly necessary.
Stoke City’s campaign has been disappointing, to say the least. After a decade in top-flight football, the Potters were deemed to be a mid-table club who always managed to finish well away from the relegation zone if not the top half of the table. However, things have taken a sour turn of pace in the current season, with the club now stranded at the 17th spot, a point above the bottom three.
Facing the axe was inevitable for Mark Hughes under whom the players looked unsettled and lacklustre. The side did register an impressive 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town last night but the final battle for survival is beckoning.
A player like Harrison can answer the goal-scoring woes with the side just registering 25 goals in the league so far. When you can vouch for a veteran Peter Crouch to be your best-attacking threat, everybody can see the extent of the problem at the bet365 Stadium.
Harrison can take up the left-wing role alongside the likes of Joe Allen and Xerdan Shaqiri and provide some depth to the Stoke attacks. Mame Biram Diouf has been sharp in recent weeks and will require service from the wide areas to improve upon his 5 goal tally for the season.
