Jack Harper (footballer)

Jack Harper
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-02-28) 28 February 1996[1]
Place of birth Málaga, Spain[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Málaga
Number 30
Youth career
2003–2009 Los Boliches
2009–2015 Real Madrid
2015–2017 Brighton & Hove Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2018 Atlético Malagueño 54 (24)
2018– Málaga 7 (2)
National team‡
2010–2012 Scotland U15
2012 Scotland U17 6 (1)
2014 Scotland U19 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:22, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:17, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

Jack Harper (born 28 February 1996) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Málaga as a forward.[2]

Early and personal life

Harper was born in Málaga, Spain,[1] to Scottish parents.[3] His brothers Ryan and Mac are also footballers.[1]

Club career

Harper played for Los Boliches between 2003 and 2009.[1] After trialling with Sevilla and Almería, Harper signed an initial 12-month contract with Real Madrid in 2009.[3] In December 2012, Harper signed a new five-year contract with Real Madrid.[4] In June 2014 he signed a further contract extension with the club.[5]

He signed for English club Brighton & Hove Albion in July 2015.[6] He returned to Spain with Málaga in January 2017.[7] He spent the end of the 2016–17 season with the Málaga B team.[8][9]

He made his first-team debut on 18 August 2018, starting in a 2–1 away win against CD Lugo in the Segunda División.[10]

International career

Harper has elected to represent Scotland at international level, saying that "even though I live in Spain, I feel Scottish, so I want to make my family proud and play for my country."[3] He has stated his ambition to play for Scotland at the FIFA World Cup.[11][12]

He was called up by the under-15 squad in April 2010,[3] and by the under-16s in July 2011.[13] He made his under-17 national debut in August 2012.[14] He made a total of 6 appearances for the under-17s in 2012, scoring 1 goal.[15] He made his debut for the under-19s in August 2014, making 3 appearances for them that year.[16] He was dropped from the under-19s in March 2015.[17]

He received his first call up to the under-21 team in March 2017.[9]

Playing style and comparisons

Harper has been compared to Robin van Persie.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Profile". Real Madrid C.F. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  2. ↑ Jack Harper at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Scott Johnson (30 March 2013). "Playing abroad can work for Britain's prospects". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Gary Ralston (26 December 2012). "Scots hitkid Jack Harper in dreamland after penning new five-year deal with Real Madrid". Daily Record. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Derek Miller (10 June 2014). "Jack Harper is still Real deal". The Herald. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Real Madrid's Jack Harper joins Brighton & Hove Albion". BBC Sport. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Brian Owen (4 January 2017). "Jack Harper leaves Brighton and Hove Albion and joins Malaga CF". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Profile" (in Spanish). La Preferente. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Malaga's Jack Harper among 10 new faces in Scotland Under-21 squad". BBC Sport. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "El Málaga asalta el Anxo Carro en tres minutos de locura" [Málaga take over Anxo Carro in three minutes of madness] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  11. ↑ "Harper on life at Real Madrid and Scotland dreams". Scottish FA. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  12. ↑ Gavin Berry (8 October 2014). "Real Madrid starlet reveals his Scotland dream as he prepares for U19 Euro Championships duty". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  13. ↑ "Under-16 squad announced for Jersey trip". Scottish FA. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  14. ↑ David Friel (28 August 2012). "Harper's Real deal for Scots". Scottish Sun. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Scotland U17 profile". Scottish FA. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  16. ↑ "Scotland U19 profile". Scottish FA. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. ↑ "Real Madrid striker Jack Harper left out of Scotland U19 squad". BBC Sport. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Starlet Jack Harper out to prove he is the Real deal". Sunday Post. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
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