Agreed summer Leeds United deal collapses as furious director vows to abandon transfer | OneFootball

Leeds United have been told that Fiorentina have absolutely no plans to turn Jack Harrison’s loan into a permanent deal after he failed to convince club bosses he was worthy of them taking up their option on a pre-agreed fee, with a fuming club director at La Viola adamant he will be returning to Elland Road, reports in Italy have revealed.

Harrison was a major player for Leeds in the Marcelo Bielsa era, but stained his copybook with the club when he opted to activate a relegation clause in his contract that allowed him to leave on loan. And with Everton coming in for the industrious wideman, the player ended up spending two years on Merseyside to coincide with the Whites’ absence from the Premier League.

However, despite being welcomed back into the Leeds mix again last summer, Harrison failed to prove his worth and was once again shipped out in the January window; this time securing a loan move to Fiorentina that contained an option to make permanent if La Viola – bottom of Serie A at the time the transfer went through – managed to preserve their Serie A status.

Now up to 16th in the table, though still only two points clear of the drop, hopes are growing that the Florence-based side will retain their place among the elite for another season at least.

However, despite making 13 appearances for Fiorentina, La Viola have made it crystal clear they will not be taking up their option to sign Harrison permanently. The option for the 29-year-old was believed to have been set at a bargain €8m (£7m, $9.3m), though with just one assist and no goals to his name in that time, it’s been decided that their cash is better spent elsewhere.

Per Corriere dello Sport, the club’s director Fabio Paratici, who oversees their transfer business, has been left wholly unimpressed by Harrison’s contributions and has made it clear they will not be triggering their option to make the deal permanent and wants to get his wages – which Fiorentina agreed to cover in full during his loan spell – off the club’s books.

Instead, La Viola, though, are ready to commit to the permanent signing of another former Leeds man, Mano Solomon, who has performed a little better.

But for Harrison, it leaves the winger in no man’s land and likely seeking a move elsewhere as he looks to resurrect his career…

Jack Harrison has no future at Leeds

Despite having racked up 219 appearances for Leeds – a spell that has seen him register 34 goals and 32 assists – the 29-year-old knows there is now no way back for him at Elland Road.

Marginalised by boss Daniel Farke, his subsequent mid-season switch to a 3-5-2 formation effectively pushed him even further down the first-team picture at Elland Road.

And with wingers like Willy Gnonto and Dan James also struggling to get valuable minutes on the pitch under the current formation, Harrison knows he will have next to no chance of carving out a fresh chance with the Whites.

Indeed, TEAMtalk understands that Leeds’ summer business will actively pursue players capable of shining in their now preferred 3-5-2 formation.

As a result, it will be in everyone’s best interests if the player – who has two years remaining on his deal at Elland Road – moves on to pastures new this summer.

Interestingly, the man Leeds brought in as his effective replacement in the January window, in Facundo Buonanotte, will also be sent back to his parent club, Brighton, after also failing to make an impact.

Latest Leeds news: Insider shares Gnonto’s struggles; Archie Gray talk dashed

Meanwhile, an insider with expert knowledge on Leeds United has revealed popular Italy winger Gnonto will continue to struggle for minutes under Farke’s “attritional” formation, amid fears he’s one of four players who could be forced out this summer.

Elsewhere, Archie Gray has been told he should consider a return to Leeds as he’s “ruining his career” at Tottenham Hotspur, though the chances of a move back to Elland Road anytime soon already look slim after we were able to dismiss claims of a buy-back clause in the £40m deal that took him to north London.