Man City defender signs new deal and secures Southampton move

Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis will spend the season on loan at Southampton.

The Stockport-born defender had interest from a number of Premier League and Championship clubs after impressing last year for Burnley and England Under-21s. And having won promotion to the top flight last year with the Clarets, he will now aim to do the same on the south coast.

City will have extra reason to cheer Harwood-Bellis and his new team on; should Southampton get promoted this season that will trigger an obligation to buy the centre-back for around £20m barring any exceptional circumstances. The 21-year-old has signed a new deal at the Etihad to extend his contract until 2025, protecting his value if Southampton do not go up.

Harwood-Bellis becomes the sixth City academy graduate to join Southampton since the beginning of last summer. Four were signed under the watch of former academy recruitment head Joe Shields, while Shea Charles signed on a permanent deal this year following the arrival of former academy director Jason Wilcox.

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City are expecting a busier deadline day than usual, with the arrival of Matheus Nunes to be completed from Wolves while Tommy Doyle will head to Wolves on loan and Cole Palmer is signing for Chelsea on a permanent deal. James McAtee could also leave on loan before the window closes while Joao Cancelo will hope for a move after playing no part in City's plans this season; Barcelona is the most likely destination for him, although the Spanish club will need to make sure their finances are in order.