Taylor Harwood-Bellis ended his 16-year association with boyhood club Manchester City this past summer, agreeing to join Southampton for £15m after a successful loan spell on the south Coast last season. Four months after the move, he’s a full England international and another example youngsters in similar positions among bigger clubs can look to emulate long-term.
A delightful debut to draw upon
- Full circle moment: “To be called up for the first-team, it would obviously be a tough ask with the squad’s quality, but he always said if you’re playing well at the top level and doing the best you can … he stuck to his word, so I’m really happy,” Harwood-Bellis on Lee Carsley, who was his manager when previously captaining England’s under-21 side and called him up
- Teammates taking notice! Harwood-Bellis’ club teammate and Nigeria international midfielder Joe Aribo: “I’ve seen Taylor grow, know how good he is – an excellent player – it’s a great achievement to be part of the set-up, just shows how well he’s done and what he’s capable of with his first callup.”
- Newcastle’s fullback duo Lewis Hall and Valentino Livramento (both Chelsea academy products), as well as Villa forward Morgan Rogers (Manchester City) recent examples of youngsters venturing away from big sides to find their feet in England’s top-flight elsewhere and it’s paying off
ALL he needed was a bit of patience, with diligent work and the hard yards already banked. 26 under-21 appearances and almost a dozen Premier League games under his belt, Taylor Harwood-Bellis is an England senior international after a familiar face rewarded him with a callup many felt inevitable years before it became reality.
Much like how Marc Guehi’s poise in possession and defensive assurity offered those around him comfort, something that has only intensified on a wider scale in senior football, the same could be said about an unassuming Stockport-born 22-year-old defender eager for minutes and the chance to mature among the division’s best.
“I’m never going to be one wanting to sit on the bench, that’s not who I am. I grew up wanting to play football, there was nothing I would want to do more than just kick a ball around and actually play so to be under the manager [Russell Martin] I am now, be with the Southampton boys, it’s brilliant.”
There’s genuine warmth to his words and while the competition for places will only stiffen under incoming new head coach Thomas Tuchel on New Year’s Day, the City academy graduate is bracing himself for the challenge ahead – sticking out like a sore thumb in a Saints side many have already touted as relegation favourites.
Carsley, who has overseen Harwood-Bellis’ progression for the national team at youth level in recent years, called him up for their Group B2 Nations League fixtures against Greece and Ireland this week with headlines swirling around the notable absences rather than opportunities it has afforded other lesser names instead.
Scoring on your debut off the bench in a 5-0 home win at Wembley? It doesn’t get much sweeter than that, on a night where the younger crop were in focus – seven of the starting eleven have featured at under-21 level since 2021, including Chelsea academy graduates Lewis Hall and Valentino Livramento on either flank.
It’s easy to forget that Harwood-Bellis experienced loan spells at Blackburn, Anderlecht, Stoke, Burnley and Southampton before finding a permanent home.
Defenders’ trajectory generally isn’t lineal and the youngster’s road to this point hasn’t been easy but much like the aforementioned Guehi and a younger example in the form of Chelsea’s Levi Colwill, it will have helped strengthen the foundations as he looks to assert himself as a mainstay in an ever-changing England squad.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 