Taylor Harwood-Bellis is wanted by the trio of newly-relegated clubs
All three of the newly relegated clubs into the Sky Bet Championship have made differing starts to life back in the second tier, but they are all involved in a transfer battle for someone who gained lots of admiration for his performances at this level last season.
Rightly or wrongly, all of Leeds United, Leicester City and Southampton have significant pressure on their collective shoulders to deliver a first time promotion back to the Premier League, and adding a player of Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ calibre to their respective squads would only increase expectation.
It was reported on Wednesday by John Percy of the Telegraph that Leeds, Leicester and Southampton had joined the race to acquire his services on a potential loan deal, but also states that last season’s treble winners would be open to a permanent sale, if the price was right between now and the end of the window on September 1st.
Interest in the 21-year-old has further increased, with Alan Nixon reporting that fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest have shown their hand in a potential deal, which will no doubt frustrate the trio of second tier clubs. Nixon also states that the aforementioned ‘right price’ is in the fee of £15m, which has deterred the likes of Burnley from making his prior loan move permanent.
What has Carlton Palmer said about Leeds, Leicester and Southampton’s interest?
It would seem highly likely that the chance to play regular football in the top flight could see the Championship outfits’ interest in Harwood-Bellis come to no avail.
Regardless, Palmer believes that if one of the three clubs was to strike a deal in the coming weeks, they have found themselves a real coup.
“Harwood-Bellis was integral in Burnley’s promotion winning campaign to the Premier League last time out.
“Having really impressed, he was also a part of the England U21’s side which won the European Championship in the summer.” Palmer continued to FLW.
“Whoever gets the player have got themselves a real coup.”
The former defender believes that out of the second tier sides, it would be Leicester City who gain an advantage over their fellow promotion rivals as a result of Enzo Maresca’s previous links to Manchester City, having been assistant to Pep Guardiola.
“I would think that Leicester would be in the driving seat, given that the manager is very friendly with Guardiola, being his number two for many years.”. He added.
We have already seen this affiliation used in the summer at the King Power Stadium, as Leicester acquired the signing of Callum Doyle from the formidable Premier League champions earlier on in the transfer window.
Would a move to the other two clubs benefit Harwood-Bellis?
Having been a key player in Vincent Kompany’s relentless, but possession based style last season, its clear why someone like Russell Martin has targeted the 21-year-old to play in a similar environment with the same expectation last season.
As for Leeds, a centre-back is a must regardless, due to the lack of squad depth and loss of captain Liam Cooper.
With the Whites also linked to Jake Cooper, Daniel Farke wants to address this issue as soon as possible, and a player like Harwood-Bellis would also fit into his philosophy.
Leave a Reply