Ellis Harrison

Ellis Wade Harrison (born 29 January 1994) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for club Milton Keynes Dons.

He represented Wales at under-21 level, scoring three goals in fourteen games.

Harrison began his career at Bristol Rovers, making his senior debut at the age of 17 in April 2011.

Harrison began his career at Bristol Rovers and made his senior debut for the Pirates in League One on 16 April 2011, in a 1–0 defeat to Southampton at St Mary's Stadium, when he came on as a 75th-minute substitute for Jo Kuffour.

This was the first time he had been in a first-team matchday squad, having been included after impressing caretaker manager Stuart Campbell during a reserve team game four days earlier.

With the club now in League Two, Ellis made his first league start on 12 January 2013 in a 3–0 victory against Fleetwood Town, setting up Danny Woodards to score the first goal after only five minutes of play.

He scored his first goal for the club two weeks later on 26 January, in a 3–1 victory away at Rotherham United.

He scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over Rochdale at the Memorial Stadium on 16 March.

Manager John Ward went on to praise his maturity, predicting a "good future" for the teenager.

Prior to the 2013–14 season, Harrison agreed a new three-year contract with Rovers.

He featured in 25 league games, but scored just once, again against Fleetwood Town.

Rovers ended the season relegated to the Conference Premier, ending their 94-year stay in the English Football League.

Harrison meanwhile was placed on the transfer list by manager Darrell Clarke.

He scored twenty goals in forty matches as Rovers secured promotion into the English Football League through the Conference Premier play-offs in the 2014–15 season, including a goal in the play-off final.

Harrison initially featured sporadically at the start of the 2014–15 season, but scored late winners against F.C. Halifax Town and Lincoln City in August and September respectively.

He scored his first professional hat-trick in the FA Cup fixture away to Dorchester Town.

Harrison ended the season with 17 goals in league and cup, including six in the final five league fixtures as Rovers finished just one point off top of the league and with it automatic promotion.

Harrison was sent off in the play-off semi-final game with Forest Green Rovers, but returned for the final at Wembley Stadium where he scored the crucial equalising goal against Grimsby Town.

Rovers went on to win the game on penalties to return to the English Football League at the first time of asking.

He was briefly loaned out to Hartlepool United in the 2015–16 campaign, though would score eight goals for Rovers as they secured promotion out of League Two.

The 2015–16 season saw Harrison regularly feature, both in the starting line-up and from the substitutes bench, until toward the end of 2015 when he was often an unused substitute.

On 17 January 2016, he agreed to join fellow League Two side Hartlepool United on a month-long loan with a view to attaining more game time.

He did not impress Pools manager Ronnie Moore during his time at Victoria Park.

As Ellis returned to Rovers from his loan spell, he scored a crucial late equaliser against league leaders Northampton Town.

This proved to be important for the club's automatic promotion race, as Rovers went up on goal difference with a victory over Dagenham & Redbridge on the final day.

Harrison scored eight goals in 32 games for Rovers, also appearing twice for Hartlepool.

Harrison scored his first League One goal of the 2016–17 season in a 2–1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers on 17 August.

On 7 January, he scored four goals in a 5–0 victory over Northampton Town.

He signed a new deal in June 2017 following what he called a "very disappointing" season in which he scored nine goals in 42 games.

He ended the 2017–18 campaign with 14 goals in 49 matches, helping the Gas to a 13th-place league finish.

Throughout his eight seasons at the club he scored 52 goals in 205 league and cup appearances.

He then scored twenty goals at League One level over the course of the next two seasons, securing a £750,000 transfer move to Ipswich Town in July 2018.

He won the January 2018 goal of the month award for League One with his solo effort against Doncaster Rovers late on in a 3–1 victory.

On 23 July 2018, Harrison signed a two-year deal (with an option for a third year) with Championship club Ipswich Town, joining the club for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £750,000.

Manager Paul Hurst said he "has got a little bit of everything" as he looked to make him the focal point of his team's attack.

However, Harrison was dropped after five games and played out of position on the left side of midfield before he suffered an ankle ligament injury in training in September, which ruled him out of action for two months.

However, he scored just one goal for the Championship club and returned to League One on a £450,000 transfer to Portsmouth in June 2019.

He scored 20 goals in 84 games for the club, before joining Fleetwood Town for an undisclosed fee in January 2022.

He moved on to Port Vale for another undisclosed fee eight months later.

He finished as Vale's top-scorer in the 2022-23 season and was then sold on to Milton Keynes Dons in September 2023.