MARK Harris became Oxford United’s sixth signing of the summer when he put pen to paper on a ‘long-term deal’.
The 24-year-old forward is versatile in the final third and joins the U’s following his exit from Sky Bet Championship side Cardiff City.
We spoke to Wales Online’s Bluebirds correspondent, Glen Williams, to find out more about Harris.
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Where is Harris’ most natural position, and where did he play most for Cardiff?
He started off as a second striker and struck up a potent partnership with Kieffer Moore. He would be the willing runner, Moore the more physical, target man type of forward. His goals return was perhaps not good enough to keep employing him as a striker and he moved out to the wing and was one of those ‘never let you down’ players. It’s difficult to pin down a ‘natural position’ because he will give a decent account of himself anywhere across the front line.
What are his key attributes?
He will run himself into the ground for you. Some people might look at that and say ‘that’s the least you expect’, but trust me, there are plenty of players who don’t do it. He might not have scored a mountain of goals at Cardiff, but he scores some really good ones. In fact, he can strike the ball really cleanly and was one of very few players capable of scoring goals from outside of the box at Cardiff. If Oxford employ a high press, once it’s triggered he will be key to that. He’s very good at leading the defence from the front.
READ ALSO: Oxford United sign forward following Championship exit
Was it a surprise he didn’t stay at Cardiff?
He is adored in Cardiff, as all academy graduates are, but I think there was an acceptance that his time at the club had run its course. It was a question of where he would have fit in. The new manager wants some creativity out on the wing, which, for all his attributes, Harris doesn’t really have in his locker, and has placed real emphasis on scoring goals up front. As has been highlighted, Harris’ goal return probably wasn’t up to scratch. It’s sad in a way because he did have some really good patches. When he broke into the Wales team, he was playing some really good football, but he has just not shown it consistently enough.
How do you think he’ll fare after taking a step down to League One?
Harris is one of those players you think is the archetypal ‘top end of League One, bottom end of the Championship’ type of players. I’ve every confidence he will be a useful asset for Oxford, but the one metric I’ll be keeping an eye on is goals. Will his scoring ratio improve in the third tier? I really hope it does, because he does a lot of other things really well. Fans will really take to him too, as they often do with wholehearted players. If he gets off to a good start in front of goal, I think it could be the making of him.
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About the author
To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/
Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.
Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.
His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.