Wolverhampton Wanderers are keen to strike a summer deal to sign Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, according to reports in the past 48 hours.
Who is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?
Harwood-Bellis is a centre-back who currently plays his football at the Etihad Stadium after graduating from his club’s academy to move up to the first team as early as 2021, but having made just eight senior appearances under Pep Guardiola, his future . overhead.
Throughout his career, the England Under-21 international has been sent out on four development loans to build up his experience and help him get more playing time, the first being at Blackburn Rovers, the second at Anderlecht, the third at Stoke City and most recently last season at Burnley and helped them get promoted to the Premier League.
The Sky Blues product will also be out of contract at the end of next season, meaning the current window is likely to be his parent club’s last major cash-in opportunity unless they want to lose him on a free, and after his impressive performances last season have he a potential suitor waiting for him in Julen Lopetegui at Wolves.
Back in November 2022, reliable journalist Alan Nixon reported that the old gold were indeed keeping an eye on the 21-year-old, and despite a deal falling through in January, it sounds like the Wolves hierarchy may be aiming to take a second bite of the cherry in the coming weeks.
Wolves sign Harwood-Bellis?
According to TEAMtalk, Wolves have a serious “interest” in Harwood-Bellis but will face stiff competition for his services with Brighton and Hove Albion, Everton and Fulham also looking to strike a deal for the defender.
Burnley are ‘struggling’ to try and re-sign the talented prospect after a successful loan spell where Vincent Kompany has already ‘begged’ Man City to let him get their player back, but his former club have ‘yet to decide’ if they want to loan out their product again or even consider a permanent sale.
Where would Harwood-Bellis fit in at Wolves?
Wolves and Fosun have just sold Nathan Collins to Brentford for £23m so Lopetegui will need to enter the market to find a suitable replacement at centre-back, and having been described as having the attitude of a “warrior” by journalist Josh Buntingcould Harwood-Bellis be the perfect candidate.
The 6ft 2 colossus, who earns just £7,000-a-week at the moment, impressed last season averaging 3.1 clearances, 2.8 clearances and 1.8 interceptions per second, via WhoScored, so was a real heartthrob of the game. back line for Claretes. He also contributed in the final third with three assists (two assists and a goal) to his name.
Harwood-Bellis, who will have a winning mentality after not only achieving promotion with Burnley but also securing three trophies before that with Man City – albeit with fleeting appearances – also has the versatility to operate at right-back, which is an extremely useful attribute for the manager to have available should any unexpected damage occur.
