Taylor Harwood-Bellis, a Manchester City loanee, has garnered praise from Leif David, the defender for Ipswich Town.
During the previous summer transfer window, the center-back went on loan to Southampton, marking his seventh loan stint away from the Manchester United team.
The 21-year-old has been a vital member of the Saints ever since, starting 22 of the 23 Championship games in which he has participated.
However, a different Championship defender has recently expressed his opinions about the City loanee.
Davis praises Harwood-Bellis
In a recent Football Daily video, Davis discussed Harwood-Bellis after selecting him as one of his team’s defensive choices. Davis was charged with selecting a Championship XI consisting of players under the age of twenty-one.
He stated: “You can see why he’s a top, top player for such a young age this year. He had a good year last year and an incredible season.”
He is so at ease with the ball that he will go after any ball, tackle, header, anything. You need a center-half who is willing to perform all the filthy labor; you don’t want a center-half who is unwilling to perform any dirty job.
Before Southampton’s most recent 3-1 victory over Swansea City, the Englishman had won more aerial duels (39), had the second-highest number of clearances (69) and blocks (25), and was the most successful player at Southampton in the Championship this season.
This supports Davis’ assertion that Harwood-Bellis is willing to play the defensive role that his team requires him to play.
With a WhoScored rating of 6.97/10 for his season-long play, the City loanee is presently Southampton’s fourth-highest-rated player.
Considering all of that, it’s understandable why Davis has been speaking well about Harwood-Bellis.
Going forward, Southampton will have to pay about £20 million to recruit Harwood-Bellis permanently if they are to earn promotion back to the Premier League at the end of the current campaign.
Should that come to pass, City might find themselves regretting included this commitment in the defender’s Southampton loan agreement.
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