Football League World
·27 October 2021
Football League World
·27 October 2021
After a difficult summer as a free agent, Kadeem Harris joined Metalist Kharkiv in the Ukrainian second tier.
A completely fresh start in football at the age of 28, he left England behind having appeared 178 times in the Football League. Harris has scored twice in his first seven appearances for his new club with Metalist currently seven points clear at the top of the Persha Liga.
Metalist are thought to be the third biggest team in Ukraine outside of Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv but have fallen down the pyramid due to financial problems.
Harris had not been envisaging a move to Ukraine when he became a free agent this summer following his release from Sheffield Wednesday, however he was interested in the prospect of it as soon as the approach was made and the 28-year-old revealed his motives for the move in a recent interview with The Athletic.
If Metalist can continue their good early season form they will return to the top-flight as one of the bigger sides in the division. The top four in the top-flight compete in European football, something that Harris was never able to do in his time in England and it would provide the perfect justification for his left field transfer.
It will be interesting to monitor Harris’ progress, who has the option to extend his contract for a further year beyond this term and to see if Metalist can seal promotion and kick on back in the first tier.