An update has emerged on Southampton and Russell Martin's plans to bolster their defensive options before the end of the summer transfer window…
What's the latest Southampton transfer news?
According to The Telegraph's John Percy, the Saints are one of a number of teams eyeing up Manchester City central defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis for a loan move before next month's deadline.
The reporter has claimed that fellow Championship sides Leeds United and Leicester City are also keen on signing the England U21 international to improve their promotion bids this season.
Percy has also added that the Premier League and Champions League champions are prepared to sell him on a permanent basis for the right price, which comes after it had previously been reported that they would be willing to cash in for around £15m.
How good is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?
The 21-year-old titan is an exceptional Championship defender who could come in as a dream heir to Armel Bella-Kotchap, who has been touted with a move away from St. Mary's this summer and reportedly has a £21m release clause.
If a team is willing to activate the option to sign the Germany international then the Saints could sign Harwood-Bellis as his replacement whilst making a £6m profit or take in all of the cash and bring him in on loan, which would be a fantastic piece of business.
The City prospect spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Burnley and caught the eye with his consistently brilliant displays at the back. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.21 across 32 league appearances, which was the seventh-best score within the entire division.
Harwood-Bellis, who won 63% of his duels, was the highest-rated defender in the Championship and this illustrates how impressive he was throughout the season for the Clarets on their way to the title.
The talented Englishman also enjoyed an extremely impressive U21 European Championship with his country this summer.
He played in five of their six matches on the way to winning the tournament as England did not concede a single goal and the 6 foot 2 brute averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.26, which was the seventh-best score within the squad.
Bella-Kotchap, meanwhile, averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.92 across 24 Premier League matches for the Saints and won 69% of his duels, which shows that both players are dominant battlers who can win the majority of their physical contests.
The current Southampton centre-back and the ex-Burnley tank also both made 1.8 interceptions per game for their respective teams, which only Jan Bednarek (2.5) bettered for the south coast club.
These statistics suggest that Harwood-Bellis has the quality to be an outstanding enforcer for Martin given his impressive performances in relation to Bella-Kotchap's for the Saints and the rest of the Championship's defenders last term.
Therefore, the City youngster, who ex-boss Tony Mowbray claimed has a "warrior attitude", could be a phenomenal signing for Southampton and provide their defence with a lift after five goals conceded within the opening two league games.
He would come in as a ready-made Championship performer who can hit the ground running and be a mainstay at the back to replace Bella-Kotchap, should he depart from St. Mary's before the end of the window.