Ipswich Town have signed a top-end League One performer in Portsmouth’s Marcus Harness.
He’s a player Blues fans will be well-aware of, given how much Town and Portsmouth have intertwined over the last three seasons, with the attacker scoring once in four games against Ipswich while in a Pompey shirt.
That goal proved to be the winner, as Paul Cook’s Ipswich were beaten at an empty Fratton Park in March of 2021, and was one of 31 he netted during his three seasons at Pompey. He added 22 assists during that time, too.
There was interest from the Championship, with Blackpool and Swansea understood to have bid and Blackburn previously linked, but only the Blues matched Pompey’s valuation before closing a deal understood to be worth an initial £600,000.
Here, we take a look at Town’s newest signing, how he made it to Suffolk and where he fits in.
The road to Town
Born near Coventry, Harness was twice rejected by the Sky Blues as a youngster. But he was a very different player then to the one he is now.
First up was an attempt to make the grade as a right-back, which saw him released. Then, unusually, he spent a further year with the club on an extended trial as a goalkeeper.
“When I was aged 13-14, I played for Coventry in goal on a Sunday and up front for Nuneaton on a Saturday,” he said, back in 2019.
“The Coventry thing was a trial, I was there for a year as a goalkeeper, but didn’t sign.
“At the same time, I was playing outfield for Nuneaton, it was a little Saturday team, it wasn’t a very good set-up.
“In the end, I decided not to play in goal any more, I sacked it off. I was all right as a keeper, but a bit small, and didn’t enjoy it as much as I do outfield.”
But his professional career truly got going at Burton Albion where, initially under the tutelage of Gary Rowett and then Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, he made his way into the first-team picture and played 22 matches as the Brewers won promotion from League Two in 2014/15. Loans to Ilkeston and Aldershot followed, though, before a full season at Port Vale in League Two helped him find his feet.
He was very much a winger by the point he returned to Burton for the 2018/19 season, during which he really put himself on the map.
He scored five goals and contributed seven assists in 32 league games for Nigel Clough’s side, who incredibly reached the semi-finals of the League Cup that season. Harness played in both legs of a 10-0 aggregate loss to Manchester City.
He’d done enough to get noticed, prompting Pompey to pay the best part of £1million to sign him in the summer of 2019.
Pompey chimes
Three years at Fratton Park proved extremely positive for Harness.
He played 136 games in total, scored 31 goals and added those 22 assists, while proving himself to be one of League One’s most-threatening players.
Harness played in the League One play-offs and also in an EFL Trophy final at Wembley – all things Ipswich have failed to do in the same timeframe.
Crucially, Harness got off to a good start after joining Portsmouth, netting in three of his first seven matches on his way to nine goals in his debut season.
Ten followed in the second, which included a hat-trick against former club Burton, before 12 more came in season three. He had a hugely productive spell of eight goals in just 12 matches between the end of September and end of November.
While many appear happy with the fee Pompey achieved for a player who was in the final year of his contract, and would likely leave for free in 12 months, the fact supporters are generally disappointed to see their player move on speaks volumes for his impact at Fratton Park.
Style guru
In Harness, Ipswich have signed a player who likes to get on the ball, can run with it and also look to create opportunities for others.
Danny Cowley has discussed Harness’s ability on a regular basis over the last year or so, so I’m going to let him explain why he thinks his former player is so effective at this level.
“He really excites me,” Cowley said in April 2021. “He has pace, an end product and is the best crosser of the ball in the league on the run. That’s a dying art. A lot of wingers now like to play inverted and come inside and shoot, which I like as long as they can shoot and score consistently. Otherwise it’s really nice to go on the outside and cross.
“Marcus has pace and an end product, which is sometimes very hard to find in League One. It’s (usually) either one or the other but he has both.
“The exciting thing about Marcus is we can see him on the right, see him on the left and see him in central spaces as well. He’s one of these (players) I wake up thinking about in the morning.”
Speaking a few months later, Cowley said: ‘When Marcus plays well, we play well. He brings that ‘je ne sais quoi’, that bit of different creativity and guile.
“I have worked in the Championship (at Huddersfield), I know what Championship players look like and he has Championship quality, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind.”
For clarity, the dictionary definition of 'je ne sais quoi' is - 'a quality that cannot be described or named easily'.
It's mysterious and exciting.
Role play
So, where do all of those positive qualities fit in at Ipswich Town?
The first thought for many after his signing would have been; ‘Harness is a right-winger, Wes Burns has been our best player and is a right-winger'.
And that’s true, to an extent.
In many ways, signing a similar player in Harness highlights just how important Burns has become to Town. It had reached a point where stopping Burns meant you could potentially stop Ipswich, so having someone with a similar skillset is clearly desirable.
There are injuries which may come along the way, as well as dips and form or even a trip to the World Cup for the Welshman. Town can’t afford to be without Burns, or someone with his skillset, for too long. Now they don’t have to be.
Harness is far from a Burns body double, though. McKenna has said he has a ‘couple’ of roles in mind for his new signing, who can also play from the left or centrally behind a striker. With a subtle shift to 4-2-3-1 looking possible, Harness looks the perfect fit for any of those three roles.
The Town boss spoke of wanting his players to be both positive and adaptable, all the way back at his unveiling in December.
Harness certainly ticks those boxes.
International Blue
One last thing. Harness will arrive at Portman Road with international ambitions, just as Burns did last summer.
The new Town winger made himself available to the Republic of Ireland in 2019, with former Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy helping him complete his paperwork and confirm his switch.
Harness was with the Ireland squad in November 2020 but has yet to win his first cap.
He’ll be hoping to follow Burns’ path and change that during the coming year.
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