Thomas Mark Harris (born 29 December 1998) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for club Oxford United and the Wales national team. A versatile forward, he is able to play as a winger or as a striker.
He has represented Wales at under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-21 level. He turned professional at Cardiff City in December 2016, and spent the 2018–19 season on loan at Newport County and Port Vale. He spent the first half of the 2019–20 season on loan at Wrexham, before breaking into the Cardiff first-team during the 2020–21 campaign, though was released in June 2023. He joined Oxford United the following month.
Club career
Cardiff City
Harris began his career at Cardiff City and was offered his first professional contract at the club in December 2016. He made his first-team debut on 8 January 2017, coming on as a substitute for Greg Halford in a 2–1 defeat to Fulham in the FA Cup. A series of illnesses and injuries throughout the Cardiff squad gave Harris the chance to make his Championship debut on 22 April, playing in a five-man midfield in a 0–0 draw at Wigan Athletic. Speaking after the match, manager Neil Warnock said that "I thought he did okay but I felt sorry for him because we were so poor in that area". He made one further appearance in the 2016–17 season, though did not feature in the "Bluebirds" 2017–18 promotion campaign.
On 2 August 2018, Harris joined League Two side Newport County on an initial six-month loan deal. He made his debut for the "Exiles" on 11 August, in a 1–0 victory over Crewe Alexandra at Rodney Parade. He scored his first goal for the club seven days later, in a 1–1 draw at Exeter City. After initially establishing himself in the first-team, Harris suffered a concussion while on international duty and was unable to regain his place on his return due to the form of fellow forwards Jamille Matt and Pádraig Amond. He made a total of 20 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell, scoring three times, before returning to the Cardiff City Stadium in January 2019 despite Newport manager Mike Flynn's statement that he was confident of extending the loan deal.
On 23 January 2019, he signed for struggling League Two side Port Vale on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. He made three starts and three substitute appearances for the "Valiants" before being allowed to return to Cardiff early by manager John Askey after going five weeks without a first-team game.
On 24 June 2019, Harris signed for National League club Wrexham on a season-long loan. "Red Dragons" manager Bryan Hughes commented that "he'll fit in well to our system. He can play across front three and he is an exciting talent". Harris scored his first goal in his second game for Wrexham, in their 2–2 draw at Boreham Wood on 6 August. He then followed that up with goals in the next two games, in a 2–1 loss at Dover Athletic and then getting the only goal of the game against F.C. Halifax Town at the Racecourse Ground. However he lost his first-team place under new manager Dean Keates and his loan was terminated early on 7 January.
Harris came off the bench to make his first appearance of the 2020–21 season in a 3–2 defeat away at Queens Park Rangers on 31 October. On 28 November, Harris started his first game of the season and scored his side's second goal in a 4–0 victory over Luton Town, his first senior goal for the club. With Neil Harris favouring his namesake over £5.5 million signing Robert Glatzel, his inclusion in the starting eleven was seen as a gamble by Harris. He partnered well with Kieffer Moore however, until Moore was sidelined with injury after six games. Harris then faced stiff competition in the second half of the campaign after new manager Mick McCarthy signed Max Watters and utilised wingers Josh Murphy and Sheyi Ojo as strikers. He went on to score impressive goals in comfortable wins over Preston North End and Birmingham City to end the season with three goals in 17 appearances.
He made 17 starts and 17 substitute appearances in the 2021–22 Championship campaign as Cardiff looked to intergrade more Welsh players into the first-team. Speaking in February, manager Steve Morison said that he was giving Harris a run in the starting eleven due to his impressive work in training and was rewarded as he scored his fourth goal of the campaign. He was linked with a move to Millwall in August 2023, though Morison denied having received any offers for Harris. He featured 38 times in the 2022–23 season, scoring three goals. Harris was offered a new contract by new manager Sabri Lamouchi in May 2023 but contract talks stalled and he left the club after the expiration of his contract.
