Taylor Harwood-Bellis has a bright future at Manchester City. He made his first-team debut at the age of 17, has been called an “exceptional” defender by Pep Guardiola and may now be handed an opportunity to get regular competitive football for a few months.
The Lancashire Telegraph say Blackburn Rovers are interested in signing Harwood-Bellis on loan for the remainder of the season. City and Rovers are said to have a positive relationship after Tosin Adarabioyo’s successful loan move in 2019/20, so the Lancashire outfit are in a strong position.
Harwood-Bellis has made 21 appearances for the U18s, 10 appearances for the U19s, 39 appearances for the U23s and six appearances for the first-team. City may feel he’s racked up enough games for the reserves that he needs to test himself with more competitive football, so a short-term loan move is smart.
Guardiola has named the 6ft 2in centre-back in his matchday squad 13 times in all competitions and rates him highly, so a positive loan move could see him in contention of first-team football at the Etihad Stadium next season. Eric Garcia made the step up, so can Harwood-Bellis?