Leeds United winger attracts criticism as ex-Everton man insists he is 'not effective enough'

A raft of players left Leeds in the summer following the club’s relegation to the Championship and Harrison was among them. He had been among the club’s better performers during their Premier League decline but could not prevent the Whites slipping into the second tier.

He joined Everton on loan in the summer window and has since racked up 17 league appearances for the Toffees as a regular fixture under Sean Dyche.

However, former Everton midfielder Ball has highlighted where Harrison needs to improve.

Writing for the Liverpool Echo after Everton’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur, Ball said: “Harrison is always checking his shoulder, trying to find where the opposition are trying to pass to. That’s fine when everybody is set up but when it’s so erratic, you’ve got to fully commit.

“I’d like to see the stats on Harrison’s turnovers because I’m sure they’ll be very low. His work ethic is fantastic and he looks busy but he’s not effective enough and he’s wasting too much energy by being too deep and too passive.

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“In those moments in which you want him to be sharp and put the pressure on, he doesn’t always get there. Lewis Dobbin came on and did one press with intent and won the ball.

“You need to be fully committed as there were far too many times when Harrison was getting picked off. He must have run 50 yards because there were lots of 10-yard sprints here and there to try and close down but you’ve got to have a bit of footballing intelligence to think ‘I’m not going to get that so I’ll sit back but when I do commit, I’ll be fully committed.’”

Everton do not have an option to turn Harrison’s loan deal into a permanent one, although his Elland Road future may hinge on whether or not Leeds escape the Championship this term.

Since initially joining Leeds on loan in 2018, he has made a total of 206 appearances for the Whites. Across those outings, he has scored 34 goals and registered 32 assists.