With Alan Nixon, a journalist well respected for his transfer sources, stating Burnley are ‘ahead of Celtic’ (via his podcast) in the pursuit of Manchester City’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis, it would appear Celtic have a fight on their hands to persuade the England Under 21 centre half to join up with Ange Postecoglou’s quality over quantity summer transfer window.
The reason for the youngster’s choosing of the Championship over the Champions League may look like a strange decision on the face of things, but there a couple of considerations above the level of football which Harwood-Bellis may have to consider.
First up Burnley who sacked former manager Sean Dyche in the hope of avoiding relegation and installed internal caretaker appointment Mike Jackson, who far from surprisingly dropped through the EPL trapdoor in any case, are now looking to appoint Vincent Kompany as their new boss.
Kompany left Anderlecht last season after finishing his two seasons with the Belgian club in 4th and 3rd position in the table and is now favourite to be appointed at Turf Moor – if a Brexit impacted work permit process can be negotiated – this week, and the Mirror reports that Harwood-Bellis is likely to be his first signing.
‘If Kompany is confirmed as the Clarets’ new boss, it has been reported his first signing could be a familiar face. City youngster Taylor Harwood-Bellis spent the second half of last season on loan at Championship side Stoke and will return to City for pre-season training next month. The 20-year-old is expected to go out on loan again next season and could be on his way back to the Championship with Burnley.
Harwood-Bellis, who is part of the current England Under-21 set-up, spent the first half of last season at Belgian side Anderlecht, playing under Kompany, and a reunion could be on the cards.’
Taylor Harwood-Bellis of Stoke City battles with Tyrhys Dolan of Blackburn Rovers (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Taylor Harwood-Bellis of course was on loan with Anderlecht last season and the pull of Kompany as a boss, having already coached the player as well as being one of the finest performers in Harwood Bellis’ position when he was a player with City, will be quite the attraction for the Manchester City prospect. And with City themselves limited this season to eight loan deals outside of England but not limited as to how many they have within the country, then you could see both the club loaning the talent and the player themselves being keen to head to Burnley rather than across the border to Scotland.
Of course, Celtic are by no means out of this one. Kompany was expected to be announced as manager yesterday, but at the time of writing no deal had yet been confirmed and with the choice of manager likely to be the swaying factor for the player, the longer this one drags out the more chance Celtic have of swooping in.
In terms of a football environment Celtic also have an advantage, in that they can offer Harwood Bellis Champions’ League group stage football, a platform that would raise the profile of the player significantly. And as an England Under 21 captain and a World Cup on the horizon there is even a chance impressive performance at that level could attract the attention of England boss Gareth Southgate, certainly more so than a season playing in the Championship.
Ange Postecoglou has always made it clear if players wish to play elsewhere rather than Celtic, he’s no one for wasting time convincing anyone. As such if Taylor-Harwood Bellis preference is for Burnley then chances are Postecoglou will simply move on to other targets. But for the player himself there is much to balance.
An appointment of Vincent Kompany may well be appealing in terms of learning from the best, but on the other hand Champions League Football is not an easy experience to source for a young up and coming central defender.
Burnley may well be ‘ahead of Celtic’ at this moment in time, but that is very much dependant on Vincent Kompany signing on with Burnley. And even then, Taylor Harwood-Bellis would do well to consider that Celtic can offer a level of football this season way beyond that of the English Championship.
Niall J
It’s Father’s Day this Sunday so why not order a copy of David Potter’s new book, Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style and we’ll get it posted straight away. You can order from Celtic Star Books – using the link below – or alternatively you can pick up a copy from any of the official Celtic Stores…
Alec McNair – Celtic’s Icicle by David Potter and both Invincible and Harry Hood Twice as Good by Matt Corr are also available from Celtic Star Books. Both of Matt’s book currently come with a free t-shirt featuring Tom Rogic or Harry Hood as part of our Father’s Day promotion.
