New England star is made in Manhattan
SUNDAY night in Manhattan and England’s newest recruit was fretting that his international career would be grounded before his dreams could even take off. Jack Harrison, the 20-year-old New York City forward, had been ecstatic 24 hours earlier when head coach Patrick Vieira took him to one side to inform him he’d been called up for England Under 21 duty. His joy, however, soon turned to despair when he got stuck in traffic en route to JFK Airport and missed his flight. To make matters worse, a five-hour time difference meant his calls to the FA went unanswered. Rather than waiting for a response Harrison, who earns £100,000 a year in New York, carried on to JFK, paid £1,200 for a new ticket and stayed at the airport overnight before boarding the earliest flight to Heathrow. He got to St George’s Park at 10.30pm on Monday, bleary-eyed and nervous, but is now ready to write another chapter in his remarkable adventure. ‘I was so disappointed to miss the flight,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t expecting this call-up at all. Before our game on Saturday, Patrick pulled me to one side and said, “I’m not supposed to tell you until after the match, but you’ve been called up by England Under 21s”. I said, “You’re lying!” I was so excited. ‘When I was stuck in the traffic, I thought the best thing to do was to get over here. I booked the flight and I was going to hire a car to get up here but the FA took care of that for me. It’s been unbelievable.’ If the route Harrison took to join up for the Euro 2019 qualifiers against Scotland and Andorra was out of the ordinary, the same can be said of his career trajectory. Born in Stoke and raised in Bolton by his mum, Debbie, Liverpool fan Harrison played in Manchester United’s academy alongside Marcus Rashford but moved six years ago for a new life in America. ‘When my mum introduced the idea I was really apprehensive and didn’t want to leave,’ he said. ‘Everyone in that system just thinks about making it to the first team and a lot of players don’t. Luckily for me it’s all worked out.’ After attending Berkshire School in Massachusetts, he was drafted to play in MLS by Chicago Fire but ended up at NYCFC alongside World Cup winners David Villa and Andrea Pirlo, as well as Frank Lampard, who has been a constant source of advice. Harrison’s call-up may have come from left field but those who worked with him yesterday insisted he did not look out of place. ‘I always aspired to be a footballer even when I was over in America,’ said Harrison. ‘Everyone dreams of playing in Europe, but we’ll have to wait and see. This is a great opportunity to show what I can do.’