Jonson Clarke-Harris is pleased with the deal he has signed with Athletic, even though he had the option of signing for a Premier League team, as he could have been part of the under-21s set-ups at Stoke or Blackburn.
Jonno pointed out, “I think it’s gone all right. I set myself targets to start 25 games and to score 10 goals. I have done one of them in starting 30 times. I’m pretty pleased, but I would have been a lot happier if I had got the extra two goals. It’s definitely something for me to build on. I know League One now and I have a year’s experience, so I think I’ll do well next season. My fitness has improved and I’m starting to understand the game a little bit more. There’s still a lot of things I need to work on. The answer is to work hard, I guess. I can definitely improve my diet. It has not been the best this year, but I’m only 19 and I have got to learn these things.”
Clarke-Harris signed a new contract in February and won the club’s young player of the year award. He went on, “It makes me feel really great. Achieving what I have this year, it just makes me want to go and get more now. Every time I step on the pitch I work hard. If I don’t score or am having a bad game, then as long as I’m working hard it sort of balances out.”
“I want to get a call to the England under-21 squad - maybe next year or the year after. That’s my biggest goal at the moment. I got a call to the Republic of Ireland under-21s this year, but I want to chase my dream to represent my country, England. I thought about it, because my dad’s half Irish. But I’m English. I’m going to relax for about four weeks then get in the gym, do my running and cardio and get back into it.”