Man City have stick-or-twist decision to make on Taylor Harwood-Bellis

In a surprise to no one, Manchester City have another wonderkid on their hands. Taylor Harwood-Bellis, 21, joined the club in 2008 when he was just six years of age, and played in the same junior league as Phil Foden.

Unlike some players of his age who have come through the academy, he has made senior starts for the club as recently as 2021, even scoring a goal in the FA Cup three years ago.

Harwood-Bellis’ profile has been raised in the public eye during the U21 European Championships campaign this month, culminating in England’s 1-0 victory over Spain in the Final on Saturday, but Burnley fans will already be well aware of what he can bring to a top side.

He played in 32 of their league games last season, sharing centre-back duty with Connor Roberts and Ian Maatsen throughout the season.

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But now comes the conundrum for Harwood-Bellis and City. The youngster would be one of six centre-backs at the Etihad next season, and as the least experienced and youngest, he would need to go elsewhere to get regular game time. He also has just one year remaining on his contract.

Luckily for Harwood-Bellis, and perhaps City, Fulham and West Ham are among those clubs reportedly looking for his signature. Of the two, Fulham are in more desperate need of a defender, as they only have three centre-backs at the club, one of which is 35-year-old Tim Ream.

As a result, this would be guaranteed Premier League game-time which is so hard to come by at Manchester City. The change of scenery is unlikely to affect Harwood-Bellis either, he moved on loan to Anderlecht as a teenager to play under Vincent Kompany, and made 19 appearances there in half a season, so