Championship promotion-chasers Southampton are hopeful of signing on-loan Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Belis on a permanent deal in the summer, according to the latest reports.
Harwood-Belis has been on loan at the Saints since the summer, but the club are hoping to sign him permanently at the end of the campaign for around £15m, as per journalist Alan Nixon on his exclusive Patreon. However, a deal will only come to fruition if the club earn promotion back to the top-flight.
The 22-year-old has been a rock at the back under Russell Martin, playing 26 times and winning over half of his overall duels. Furthermore, he boasts a 93% success rate for passing, while also scoring two goals and recording one assist.
The Stockport-born youngster has had several fruitful loan spells, including at Stoke City and Burnley. For the latter, he was part of the squad that was promoted to the Premier League last season, playing 32 times for Vincent Kompany’s side.
Harwood-Bellis has come through the Manchester City academy but is yet to make a senior league appearance for the English champions. However, he has featured in the EFL Cup, FA Cup and in Europe for his parent club before going out on loan.
The centre-back has also played international football for England from U16s right through to the U21s where he was part of the squad that beat Spain 1-0 in the final to lift the European Championship in 2023.
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