Wolverhampton Wanderers are keen to strike a summer deal to sign Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, according to reports in the last 48 hours.

Who is Taylor Harwood-Bellis?

Harwood-Bellis is a centre-back who currently plays his football at the Etihad Stadium having graduated from his club’s academy to get promoted to the first-team back in 2021, but having only ever made eight senior appearances under Pep Guardiola, his future is up in the air.

Throughout his career, the England U21s international has been sent out on four development loans to build his experience and to help him receive more game time, the first being at Blackburn Rovers, the second Anderlecht, the third Stoke City and most recently last season he was at Burnley, helping them gain promotion to the Premier League.

The Sky Blues product will also be out of contract at the end of next season meaning that the ongoing window is likely to be his parent club’s final big opportunity to cash in should they not want to lose him for free, and following his impressive performances last season, he’s got a potential suitor waiting for him in Julen Lopetegui at Wolves.

Back in November 2022, reliable journalist Alan Nixon reported that the Old Gold were indeed keeping a close eye on the 21-year-old, and despite a deal failing to come to fruition back in January, it sounds like the Wolves hierarchy may be aiming to take a second bite of the cherry in the weeks ahead.

Are Wolves signing Harwood-Bellis?

According to TEAMtalk, Wolves hold a serious “interest” in Harwood-Bellis but are set to face stiff competition for his services with Brighton and Hove Albion, Everton and Fulham also wanting to reach an agreement for the defender.

Burnley are “battling” to try and re-sign the talented prospect following a successful loan spell with Vincent Kompany having already “asked” Man City to let him have his player back, but his former club are “yet to decide” whether they want to loan their product back out or even consider a permanent sale.

Where would Harwood-Bellis fit in at Wolves?

Wolves and Fosun have just sold Nathan Collins to Brentford for £23m so Lopetegui will need to enter the market to find a suitable successor at centre-back, and after being described as having the attitude of a “warrior” by journalist Josh Bunting, Harwood-Bellis could be the perfect candidate.

The 6 foot 2 colossus, who earns just £7k-per-week at the moment, impressed last season averaging 3.1 clearances, 2.8 aerial wins and 1.8 interceptions per second tier game, via WhoScored, so was a real rock at the heart of the backline for the Clartes. He also contributed in the final third with three goal contributions (two assists and one goal) to his name.

Harwood-Bellis, who will possess a winning mentality having not only achieved promotion with Burnley but also secured three trophies prior to that with Man City – albeit with fleeting appearances – also has the versatility to operate at right-back which is an extremely useful attribute for the boss to have available should any unexpected injuries occur.