Benfica ‘willing to go’ to €20m for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, but timing looks wrong | OneFootball

Benfica have made contact over Taylor Harwood-Bellis and are willing to go to €20m, around £17m, but there is no formal bid and Southampton are unlikely to deal at that price, according to Sainstmarching.com.

Saints rate their vice-captain far above £17m. Porto put forward a similar figure in January and were sent away. He is 24 and Southampton triggered a £20m obligation to buy from Manchester City in 2024, so cashing in for less, in a promotion year, runs against the plan.

He took the armband as vice-captain when Adam Armstrong left in January. Across 154 Championship matches he has 10 goals and eight assists, unusually high for a centre-back. He carries the ball out and affects set pieces.

Having already sold Shea Charles, losing their best defender in the same window would be a step too far. The timing hurts Benfica, with Southampton opening at Vicarage Road on Sunday and Harwood-Bellis almost certain to start if fit.

A move abroad with European football has obvious appeal and Portugal is a strong stage, though it still sits below the Premier League. Southampton have parried interest all summer and only Charles has departed. West Ham had an early look before cooling, while Coventry and Hull also sounded him out, and Leo Scienza, Caspar Jander and Finn Azaz have drawn attention without moving.

The calendar is squarely on Southampton’s side, so expect him in red and white at Watford this weekend, not in Lisbon.

Source: Sainstmarching.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”