Leeds United’s imminent retained list will confirm the return of Manor Solomon and Joe Rothwell to their parent clubs after a job well done at Elland Road. Typically, it does not confirm which players will return to West Yorkshire from their own temporary exits, but they all come back with question marks for this Premier League summer.

Darko Gyabi, Sam Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt and Charlie Crew have all had the game time they craved this season, but none of them will feel confident about their chances of breaking into Daniel Farke’s team at a higher level from August.

Then there is Jack Harrison, the fifth and highest profile player currently out on loan. He still has two games to go with Everton before the season finishes. After that, he has three years to run on the Leeds deal he signed in April 2023.

He is still United’s player and they will have the final say on where his future lies during the coming close season. The club’s return to the Premier League, crucially, means there is no loan clause active that would have taken matters out of Leeds’ hands.

The most important question will be whether Farke wants to include Harrison in his plans. From there, managing director Robbie Evans and sporting director Adam Underwood can include him or work to find a new club for him.

Harrison playing for Leeds in 2023 (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

It would be wrong to assume Farke has automatically ruled Harrison out of his plans because of his recent loans away. As we saw last summer, Brenden Aaronson and Max Wober were each reintegrated with the squad after spending the previous season on loan in Germany. The manager felt they were good enough to help the cause and welcomed them back.

While Harrison has been away at Goodison Park for the past two years, Farke has said virtually nothing about the winger, so his opinion on the 28-year-old is unknown at this point. Helpfully, Harrison has been playing regularly, so Farke will have two years of top-flight data to help him decide.

Harrison’s attacking output has left a lot to be desired this season, though 19 league games were played under Sean Dyche before he was replaced by David Moyes in January. Everton’s average expected goal (xG) tally under Dyche was 0.96 per match this season. Under Moyes, that has risen to 1.17.

Dyche oversaw just three wins in his 19 league games this term, while Moyes has overseen six wins and only four losses in 17 outings. Harrison’s played in 32 of 36 league games up to now, starting 23. Seven team-mates have seen more minutes, which underlines how frequently Harrison has been used by both bosses.

For all of that pitch time, he will be disappointed to have just one goal and no assists for the season, despite playing as a winger. Twelve players have had a hand in more goals for Everton in 2024-25. Dyche favoured a defensive setup which would have impacted Harrison’s attacking play, but this also applied to team-mates, who found more joy in the final third.

Harrison’s underlying data shows how he has underperformed in front of goal this year. He has generated an xG tally of 3.5, but only delivered one strike. Last season was marginally better, but still an underperformance in front of goal with three goals from 3.6 xG.

By contrast, during his three top-flight seasons with Leeds, he scored eight goals from 5.8 xG (20-21), eight goals from 4.4 xG (21-22) and five goals from 4.7 xG (22-23).

Take-ons have also proven difficult for Harrison this season. He has a 31.5 per cent success rate when trying to dribble past opponents, which is down from 38.7 per cent last season. With Leeds, Harrison had 53.8 per cent success in 20-21, 47.4 per cent in 21-22 and 40.7 per cent in 22-23.

Carrying the ball upfield is where Harrison has prospered this year. Progressive carries are those that move the ball towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its furthest point in the last six passes, or any carry into the penalty area.

Harrison averages 3.26 progressive carries per 90 minutes this season. That’s up from 2.64 last season. For comparison across the rest of the top flight, Jeremy Doku is an outlier at 12.6 per 90, while Jarrod Bowen, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer produce similar numbers to Harrison.

This graphic shows where Harrison’s carries tend to go. He has played most frequently as a right-winger for Everton and generally gone down the outside for crosses off his weaker right foot, rather than cutting inside for shots off his stronger left.

This collection of the chances created by Harrison this season underlines the corners he has taken, but also a preference for those crosses from the right to the back post. The data shows Harrison has generated 3.7 expected assists (xA) this season, but has then been let down by poor finishing or good goalkeeping.

Should Farke and Leeds decide Harrison has no part in their plans for next season, another loan departure could be one option, but a sale may be the preference for all parties. Six of the past eight seasons have involved loans for Harrison.

If United pursued a sale, Harrison would increase the headroom Leeds have when it comes to their profit and sustainability (PSR) obligations this summer. The winger’s current book value is estimated to be around £2.75million ($3.7m), so any transfer fee beyond that would generate profit for the PSR calculations.

Leeds paid £11m for Harrison in 2021 and he signed a three-year contract. That means his transfer fee was amortised across those three years at £3.67m each year in the PSR calculations.

By the time he signed his new five-year contract in April 2023, his book value at that time, around £4.5m, was then spread out again over the duration of the new deal. It brings his current value on the books to between £2.5 and £3m, meaning a decent profit if a club paid an eight-figure sum for him.

It remains to be seen if Everton are the club to pay such a fee. Harrison is known to have enjoyed his time at Goodison Park and has good relationships with the coaching staff, but no talks have yet taken place on how the Merseyside outfit see the future with their loanee.

Harrison’s attacking output may have been limited, but he has started 11 of the last 12 games under Moyes, showing the faith the manager has in him. The 28-year-old has racked up 168 Premier League appearances over the past five years, which is desirable experience for other clubs in the division too.

Solomon’s return to Tottenham Hotspur opens up one wide berth in Farke’s current squad, but will Leeds and Harrison feel too much water has passed under the bridge? He was always a popular member of the dressing room and still has friends at the club, but has he played his last game in Leeds white?

The next six weeks will give us our answer.

(Top photo: Jack Harrison by Alex Pantling via Getty Images)