Burnley aren’t willing to meet Manchester City’s demands to sign Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, writing on his Patreon page, Manchester City have put a £15 million price tag on Taylor Harwood-Bellis that Burnley aren’t willing to match. However, there is strong interest in the young defender from elsewhere in the Premier League.
Manchester City are open to selling Harwood-Bellis this summer, but won’t reduce their asking price.
Having already brought Dara O’Shea in from West Brom, and made Jordan Beyer’s switch to Turf Moor permanent, Burnley clearly feel they can cope without the 21-year-old centre-back this season.
However, if there were a chance to bring in Harwood-Bellis for a lower price, Vincent Kompany would surely jump at it.
Are Burnley making the right call?
Harwood-Bellis was fantastic for the Clarets whilst on loan with them last season. The Belgian coach, who has worked with the young defender at both Anderlecht and Burnley, has huge faith in his ability, and has said, “he really has an outstanding attitude and he’s got good habits of high-level professionals,” as quoted by LancsLive.
The England under-21 captain brought his fine form from the Championship last season into this summer, when he led his country to under-21 European Championship glory.
Despite his youthful age, Harwood-Bellis looks ready to compete at Premier League level. He almost certainly won’t get that chance at the Etihad Stadium. With the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, and Manuel Akanji ahead of him in the pecking order there, he needs to move on this summer to continue his development.
Considering the potential Harwood-Bellis has, and the going rate for players in the current market, £15 million doesn’t seem unreasonable. Burnley would perhaps be wise to reconsider their stance before they are beaten to his signature.