“I was in the changing room crying, I burst into tears because I knew what that moment meant and how it had escaped me.” This was Shayon Harrison in the aftermath of what should have been the best night of his life, a Tottenham first-team debut at Anfield aged 19. Six and a half years on, his first game as a professional is still what defines his career.
Harrison came off the bench in the League Cup fourth‑round tie and had a chance to equalise – but he miscontrolled an Érik Lamela cross, allowing Simon Mignolet to collect, and Spurs went on to lose. He would not play for Tottenham’s first team again. Now 25, the Hornsey-born striker is playing in his fourth country, leading the promotion charge for Poli Iasi in Romania’s second tier.
“It seems like light years away,” Harrison says. “[Mauricio] Pochettino put his arm around me and comforted me as much as he could. I feel everything had been leading up to that moment; I had been with the first team for quite a while, travelling to games, training with them on a regular basis and then the opportunity was presented to me. I should have taken it. If it comes again, nine times out of 10 I probably score, that is how confident I am.
“It took me a long, long time to try and forget about it. A month ago it came back into my head and I watched the clip on YouTube a few times. Every now and again, I do think about it.”
It was a sliding doors moment for Harrison, who thinks he would have earned more opportunities at Spurs by burying the chance. Instead his next experiences of the professional game were on loan at Yeovil and Southend. Harrison’s six-year association with Spurs ended in 2019 when he joined Dutch side Almere on a free transfer. He spent 18 successful months there before returning to England for spells at AFC Wimbledon and Morecambe but injuries limited his game time.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Harrison says. “The last couple of years have been very, very difficult for me mentally. It was a massive mental challenge because I was not enjoying football: I was coming in, not really knowing if it was something that I really wanted to do. I wasn’t at the point that I wanted to quit football but I wasn’t at that point where I used to wake up excited and buzzing.”
Eventually he joined non‑league Hayes & Yeading in order to rebuild his fitness but it was hard to adapt to the part-time environment. Last summer was a critical time in Harrison’s career: having made five professional appearances in the previous year and a half, the next decision could decide his career. After a trial with National League North side AFC Fylde, Harrison did the same in the northern Romanian city of Iasi and earned a contract.
“I needed the risk,” Harrison says. “I think the experience of being abroad before helped me. I was in Australia [at Melbourne City] on loan from Spurs and then went to Holland. I was more comfortable being abroad, being on my own, and knew it wouldn’t be too bad. It was a risk to come here, try and make the most of the opportunity and see what I make of it. I am just trying to rebuild again; there was a big gap in my career, that’s been voided with injury and other things. This was to try and restart.”
The move has done the trick. Harrison has five goals in 15 appearances, Iasi are favourites for promotion and the clubs wants to extend his contract for a further season. It is a very different environment to what he was brought up with at Spurs. Harrison got his break at Tottenham after impressing Pochettino when he was called on to make up the numbers on a day when the England squad were training at the club’s base.
Harrison came through the academy alongside Kyle Walker-Peters and Harry Winks. Another youngster on the bench at Anfield was Anton Walkes, a midfielder who would go on to play in MLS. Walkes died earlier this year in a boat crash in Florida aged 25. “Me and Anton were very close while we were at Spurs,” says Harrison. “He was such a funny guy, always happy-go-lucky, easy to talk to, just a great person. It was a sad time to hear he had passed, it was shocking. He was an absolute pleasure to be alongside and know.”
Harrison is injury-free and full of confidence in Romania. He is working his way back up the ladder after learning his trade at a Premier League club. “That was the level I wanted to get to. My path has taken a different turn but I still don’t have any doubt in myself that I will get to where I want to get to.
“I always think football is about taking risks and being brave. It is a rollercoaster more than anything. Keep your head down and stay focused. That is what I am doing out here.”
