Leeds United have reportedly rejected an £18 million bid for Jack Harrison from Newcastle United, as it falls well short of their valuation of the attacker.
According to Football Insider, Leeds United have rejected an £18 million offer for their winger Jack Harrison from fellow Premier League rivals Newcastle United. The report adds that the Magpies’ valuation of the versatile attacker is well short of the figure that would persuade the Whites to sell their key player this summer.
Newcastle have abandoned their chase of Alexander Isak and Moussa Diaby due to the high asking prices and wage demands they have been quoted. This has forced the Toon chiefs to realign on a contingency list of players who could be more realistic targets, with Leeds United’s Harrison said to be one of them.
Harrison’s future at Elland Road has come under the scanner this summer due to the high level of interest from cash-rich Premier League side Newcastle United, who have a long-standing interest in the Leeds United forward. Newcastle even followed that initial interest by lodging an £18 million bid, with Eddie Howe keen on adding Harrison to the list of fresh recruits ahead of the upcoming season.
But his plans have been discouraged by Leeds, who value Harrison highly and have knocked back Newcastle’s latest offer for the player. Harrison has been a regular fixture at Elland Road for four years, the first three on-loan from Manchester City, before finally signing on a permanent basis last summer. To date, he has netted 28 goals while providing 22 assists in 166 outings for Leeds.
He helped Leeds clinch promotion by winning the Championship during the 2019/20 season, where he was a key player in Marcelo Bielsa’s side. And his ten-goal season tally last term was critical to the club’s survival in the Premier League, including his decisive injury-time strike in a 2-1 crucial victory over Brentford on the final day of the season.
Leeds have already sold two big players in Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, and are not interested in selling other important locker room figures, unless for irresistible bids. Harrison has two years remaining on his contract and responded to a question about his future with an unconvincing ‘We’ll see what happens’.
This only served to fuel speculation about a possible move to Newcastle United, but Leeds manager Jesse Marsch has since gone on record stating that he expects his versatile winger to continue at Elland Road this season and sees him as an important part of his future plans.
That could be the path Newcastle have to take in order to twist the hands of their Premier League rivals, who are demanding in excess of £35 million for the 25-year-old. A move to St. James’ Park would be a bigger step for the Leeds United forward at the moment, thanks to their ambitious project.
If Harrison tries to force through a move to Tyneside, Leeds may have to reconsider their stance. Having said that, Newcastle’s current bid is still wide off the mark of Leeds’s asking price, and whether they will try to bridge the gap to seal the deal or look elsewhere remains to be seen.
