Will Harris, who spent time on loan with Barrow at the end of last season, is rebuilding his career at Gateshead.
The 22-year-old former Sunderland striker figured nine times for the Bluebirds but didn’t find the back of the net.
A youth product at Hebburn Town he joined the Academy at Burnley, spending time on loan at Colne and Warrington Town. He scored nine times in 12 games for NPL side Colne.
He moved to Sunderland in 2020 and had three first team appearances, enjoying a prolific spell with the Under-23s, before being loaned to Barrow.
Harris has revealed: “When I went there it just didn’t click for me. I enjoyed it and all the lads and staff were great but it was tough. For whatever reason I don’t know, sometimes you just can’t put a finger on things.
“It just didn’t work out for whatever reason and there was minor health issues that I missed out on the back end of the season and just tailed off from then. It was really tough and unexpected.
“I was really unaware of that sort of stuff and for when it happened, at the time it did, I felt I was in a really good place both physically and mentally, for that to happen at that time, it was a bit of a knock both mentally and physically.
“When I went to Barrow the aim was to go there, score a few goals and make an impression whilst getting my name out there but come back and ultimately just improve and keep growing at Sunderland.
“The way the loan went and things that happened personally for me, once I got back to Sunderland everyone kind of knew that the way the club was going, the new owners, I think there was a new way of doing things.
“They wanted younger lads coming through, bringing in bigger names and it’s totally fair enough. It’s nice to see for the club now to see them kick on. I had an incline but there’s no hard feelings with it, I’ve been given the chance at Gateshead.”
Harris was among a number of players brought in by former manager Mark Cooper in the January transfer window when he said that the striker had been on his radar for a while. Cooper left the club in March.
