West Ham and Crystal Palace have been alerted to the possibility of signing Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, talkSPORT understands.
England international Harwood-Bellis is expected to leave the Saints in the likely event that they are relegated back to the Championship.
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The centre-back recently signed with the Unique Sports Group agency, who have a close working relationship with both the Hammers and Palace.
Harwood-Bellis is in his first complete Premier League season and earned his inaugural England cap in a 5-0 Nations League victory over Ireland in November, during which he found the net.
However, his situation has deteriorated as Southampton currently sits at the bottom of the league with nine points from 27 games, with Harwood-Bellis participating in 24 of those contests, playing the full 90 minutes on 19 occasions.
Nonetheless, the 23-year-old has a solid reputation, having emerged from Manchester City’s renowned academy before making his senior debut with them in 2019.
The 6ft 2in centre back made eight appearances all-in-all, and even scored in the FA Cup against Port Vale.
He also found some extra fame upon making his first and only England appearance to date, with Ireland legend Roy Keane his soon-to-be father in-law.
West Ham and Palace may well be in need of reinforcements at the back, with the former conceding 47 goals this season, the fifth highest figure in the league.
Meanwhile Palace may face a battle to hold onto star defender Marc Guehi amid interest from Newcastle and Chelsea.
Harwood-Bellis could represent a signing with untapped potential for either side, as he starred in Southampton’s promotion campaign last season.
He’s also not exactly green when it comes to experience either, with 116 Championship games under his belt having previously played for Blackburn, Stoke and Burnley before Southampton made their loan permanent for £20million.
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The one-time England international also has experience abroad, having spent a year on-loan at traditional Belgian side Anderlecht.
Born in Stockport, Harwood-Bellis certainly wouldn’t be the only player to not make the cut at Man City before excelling elsewhere.
Huge names like Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho forged a similar path, while Palace themselves have had plenty of luck in signing players formerly from the Sky Blues’ academy.
Michael Olise shone for the Eagles from 2021 to 2024 before being sold to Bayern Munich for a club record £51million sale.
