Harwood-Bellis arrives on loan

The 21-year-old arrives on a season-long loan from the Premier League champions, returning to the Championship where he was a title winner with Burnley in 2022/23.

Appearing 35 times for Vincent Kompany’s side, the central defender arrives on the south coast with 73 Championship appearances already to his name, having previously enjoyed spells with Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City, with a loan spell at Anderlecht in 2021/22 taking his total senior appearances to 105.

After a standout season at Turf Moor, Harwood-Bellis captained England Under-21s to Euro 2023 glory in the summer, with Lee Carsley’s side lifting the trophy without conceding a single goal.

Director of Football Jason Wilcox said: “Taylor arrives with experience beyond his years, including a vast amount of games at Championship level which includes lifting the title last season.

“He’s someone who can help us immediately but also has huge potential to continue developing.

“Taylor’s attributes make him a perfect fit for our system and how we want to play, and I have no doubt he’ll prove to be a valuable addition.”

Taylor Harwood-Bellis said: "I’m really happy to be here and can’t wait to get going. The willingness from their side to get me in the door and when I spoke to the manager and Jason [Wilcox] I think it was straight after then that I knew.

"I felt the warmth of the manager and he explained to me exactly what he wants to do and the ambitions of the club that suited exactly where I am in my career and where I want to be going forward, and I can hopefully do it under the manager here.

"I want to win, I obviously had a taste of that this summer, but my aspiration is to become a better footballer as well, and I feel like I can do that along the way and learn different styles and different ways to play football and I feel like the manager, the staff and the team here can help me do that."