Taylor Harwood-Bellis to fulfil lifelong dream by captaining England Under-21s

Taylor Harwood-Bellis admits he will fulfil a lifelong dream after being handed the England Under-21 captaincy.

The Manchester City defender, on loan at Stoke, has been given the armband for Friday’s Euro 2023 qualifier against Andorra in Bournemouth.

He replaces Marc Guehi after the Crystal Palace defender’s promotion to the senior team for their friendlies against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast.

Harwood-Bellis said: “It’s a big honour and something I’ve strived to be in my career. I’m ready to step up, take responsibility and be a leader.

“I let my family know and they were all proud, it’s a big thing and something I’ve worked towards. I’ve always wanted to be captain, or a leader, in any team I play in.

“I feel you can have 11 captains on the pitch even without the armband. The way I train and play I will do the same as I always have. There’s that thing about having the armband but it doesn’t change my mentality going into the game.”

Boss Lee Carsley needed another captain having only named Guehi as his skipper in September. This time, though, the boss is planning to hand the armband around his squad to aid their development.

He said: “Taylor is a player I worked with in the past, my idea is I will rotate it more than I have done in the past. Some need it for a boost, some deserve it. Taylor will captain tomorrow and we’ll potentially have another captain against Albania (on Tuesday).

“Taylor is a leader, he’s very well respected on and off the pitch but I don’t want to commit to one captain, we have enough leaders in the squad here so we can rotate. I want them to experience being that leader and leading by example.”

England host Andorra sitting second in Group G, three points behind the Czech Republic with two