Aston Villa are reportedly finalising the signing of Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis in a deal worth £25m plus add-ons.
The 24-year-old initially came through the youth ranks at Manchester City, but after a string of loan spells elsewhere, he joined Southampton in 2023 on loan before making it a permanent switch a year later.
Since then, he’s made 134 appearances for the club while he has also earned a cap for England as he looks to continue to develop and take the next step in his career.
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That next step will come at Villa it seems, as The Athletic report that the club are now finalising an agreement to sign the Saints centre-half in a deal worth an initial £25m, plus a possible £5m in add-ons.
It’s added that he has emerged as the preferred option to replace Ezri Konsa after he completed a move to Arsenal earlier this month, and after a vital breakthrough in talks on Sunday, it looks as though the move will now go through.
Given how influential he was for us, it was always going to be a real challenge to replace Konsa, but it’s hoped that Emery has identified the ideal successor for the long term in Harwood-Bellis, as he’ll no doubt help him improve his game and become a key presence in our backline.
After a busy summer of rebuilding, it looks as though we’re now close to finishing our work for this transfer window as this was one of the major tasks left on the agenda ahead of the deadline, and it’s hoped that we’ve been successful in replacing individuals who were fundamental to our progress and success in recent years with players who can become success stories in their own right as part of this new-look, young and hungry Villa squad.