England youth international Taylor Harwood-Bellis has joined Championship side Southampton on a season-long loan deal. The move was confirmed on Southampton’s official website.
It will be another season in the Championship for the highly-rated defender. Harwood-Bellis spent last season on loan with Vincent Kompany’s Burnley as they clinched promotion to the Premier League last season. He has previously had loan spells with Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City in the Championship. There was also a brief loan spell at Belgian side RSC Anderlecht for Harwood-Bellis.
The young City defender also captained the England under-21 side to the UEFA Under-21 European Championship crown this past summer. Harwood-Bellis was a key part of the England lineup as they secured the crown without conceding a goal throughout the tournament.
Harwood-Bellis expressed his excitement at the move to Southampton. Speaking on their official website he said: “I want to win, I obviously had a taste of that this summer, but my aspiration is to become a better footballer as well, and I feel like I can do that along the way and learn different styles and different ways to play football and I feel like the manager, the staff and the team here can help me do that.”
Taylor Harwood-Bellis will be hoping to secure Southampton promotion to the Premier League during his loan spell with the club. He was a key part of Burnley’s successful campaign last season and will be looking to replicate that success at the Saints.
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