Manchester City have confirmed the departure of centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who has joined Southampton on a permanent deal.
The 22-year-old spent last season on loan with the Saints in a deal which included an obligation to make the move permanent if they sealed promotion back to the Premier League.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis celebrating Southampton’s victory and promotion to the Premier League (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
“It’s no secret how much I enjoyed being here last season, so I’m delighted to officially become a Southampton player ahead of the new season,” said Harwood-Bellis. “The feeling of bringing this club back to the Premier League and playing in front of these fans week-in and week-out has been amazing.
“I’ve learnt a great deal over the past two years and developed so much as a player and as a person. To have the opportunity now to represent this club in the Premier League is really special and I can’t wait to get going and to see all the lads again.”
Southampton in the past few years have been snapping up young talents from Manchester City.
In 2022, Southampton hired former City scout Joe Shields as their recruitment guru and quickly followed that appointment up with deals for Gavin Bazunu, Romeo Lavia, Samuel Edozie and Juan Larios for close to £40m combined.
12 months later, Southampton recruited Jason Wilcox from City as their director of football and he continued their Etihad shopping spree.
He initiated a £10.5m move for midfielder Shea Charles and a deal to sign goalkeeper Josh McNamara on a free transfer, as well as the loan move for Harwood-Bellis.
