Former Huddersfield Town striker gave his thought on Kian Harratt
- Jon Stead discusses the development of Kian Harratt
- Former Town striker plays with Harratt at Harrogate Town
- Kian Harratt made the loan switch to the National League club in January
Former Huddersfield Town striker Jon Stead has been impressed with Young Terrier Kian Harratt.
Stead, who made over 100 appearances for Town after coming through the Academy, now plays alongside 17-year-old Kian at Harrogate Town.
After making his professional debut for the Terriers in December, Kian made the loan switch to the National League side to gain a regular taste of men’s football.
Jon has been keeping a keen eye on Town’s Academy over the last year or so and explained that he wasn’t surprised that Kian was able to fit in at Harrogate both on and off the pitch straight away.
“I had seen him at Town last season, so I knew what he was capable of and his style of play.
“I think the lads have been impressed with him, especially with his finishing and his shooting.”
As a striker himself, the 36-year-old has been able to help certain parts of Kian’s game and he expressed how impressed he’s been with him so far.
“Every chance he gets he takes his shot early and his ratio for hitting the target has been above what you would expect for someone his age.
“He’s been strong and more reliable when holding the ball up. I can see him developing it in training and having to hold the ball up against strong, big lads at centre half is only going to improve him even more.
“You are always wondering at that age if they can make the step up and deal with the pressures, physicality and all the other things that go along with National League football. He is somebody that can totally handle that.”
Kian came in to aside battling for promotion to the English Football League – a different pressure he may not have been used to.
“We’re fighting for promotion, so the fact he’s playing against men and different types of players that he maybe wouldn’t have come across in academy leagues is a good thing for him to experience in his career early doors,” said Stead.
Since the pair have been together, Kian has been picking the brains of the experienced 36-year-old.
“It’s nice to have someone whose asking questions and looking for insights to develop the parts of his game that the Huddersfield staff have been asking him to look at and work on,” smiled Jon.
“He’s got the running, the finishing, the movement and he’s an intelligent lad on the football pitch too.
“It’s just learning the tricks of the trade really and that’s probably something I can help him with.”
