Saints In For Yet Another Manchester City Starlet

Southampton fans will not be getting too excited about the news that the club is talking to Manchester City about another signing from the club's academy, but the good news is that this one has the experience that we sorely need.

the72.co.uk have revealed that Southampton are one of several club's chasing Manchester City's central defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

Saints are said to be competing with Leeds united & Leicester City with Manchester City being said to be willing to sell at the right price, that could be somewhere between £15 - 20 million according to transfermarkt for a player whose contract at the Etihad is up next summer.

Oh no not another youngster will be the cry from many Saints supporters, after all we have had a few over the past 12 months and the success has been varied so far, but Harwood-Bellis comes with a little more of a pedigree than any of his potential ex Manchester City team mates at St Mary's.

He is a little older for a start, he will turn 22 in January, secondly he has spent the last 2 1/2 years out on loan.

After a few appearances in the FA & League Cups plus a Champions League game, in January 2021 he went out on loan to Blackburn Rovers where he made 19 appearances in the Championship.

The first half of 2021/22 season was spent at Anderlecht where he played 16 games in the Jupilo Pro League before returning to Manchester City in January, although he was not there long, he was off to Stoke where he started all 22 games that he could have played in , missing just 20 minutes of game time, coming off injured in the final game of the season.

Last season saw him on loan to the Championship again, this time to Burnley for the entire 2022/23 season, at Turf Moor he played in virtually every game he was fit for, an ankle injury meaning he was out for 3 months at the turn of the year, he was back in the side though for the final half dozen games of the season.

So this is perhaps a signing that Saints fans could get excited about, a player with undoubted potential and ability, but one who has actually proved himself at the level we need him to play this season and with the potential to play in the Premier League should we get promotion.

Harwood- Ellis has already racked up first team appearances in all competitions including Belgium totalling 105.

Hopefully the fact that he will know Saints Director of Football Jason Wilcox well will give us the edge in signing this player.

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