Initially from East Yorkshire, Male joins the Mackerels having impressed in the club’s recent 7-0 pre-season friendly victory against East Preston last week, putting pen to paper courtesy of a bizarre series of events which led to his move to Woodside Road:
“When was injured at Leeds, I went down to St. George’s Park as part of the rehab programme, and I met Aarran (Racine) down there and we just got talking and ended up spending about three or four days together and kept in contact after.
“We got along so well when we were at St George’s and who would have known we’d have been playing for the same club three years down the line.”
The 20-year-old came through the youth ranks at the Premier League side, representing their under-18 and under-23 sides – even signing a professional contract at Elland Road in May of 2019.
“I was at Leeds from when I was seven until 19, I did a two-year scholarship and one year professionally.”
He also received international call-ups for England under-15, 16 and 17 squads, and spent the last prolonged season at National League North side Gateshead, before recently moving to the south east and picking the Mackerels based on a few stand-out factors:
“I’ve watched some of the games and seen fans who’ve got drums out and everything, it’s crazy how much noise they make and is another plus why I wanted to sign for the club.”
Harrison Male
“Before you could ever choose a club, you’ve got to see what the club’s about, and watching all the games on YouTube, the team fit my style perfectly – they play out from the back, and the fans are unbelievable.”
The Worthing faithful have become notorious for cranking up the decibel level around grounds in recent seasons, with Male instantly noticing exactly this when browsing the web:
“I’ve watched some of the games and seen fans who’ve got drums out and everything, it’s crazy how much noise they make and is another plus why I wanted to sign for the club.
“Up at Gateshead we didn’t have any fans because of COVID restrictions, and at Leeds under-23 games you’d sometimes have a crowd but most were at the training ground and behind closed doors, so to experience a proper crowd will be amazing, I can’t wait.”
