Two rejected bids push Benfica-linked player away from Premier League | OneFootball

Taylor Harwood-Bellis was identified by Benfica as a target for central defence to replace António Silva. However, with the arrival of Alessandro Circati, talks cooled down. Aston Villa wanted to sign him, but Southampton were always adamant.

The Villans tried to sign the young England international centre-back, but saw two bids rejected by Southampton, the latest worth €24 million. The Championship club wanted a fee of around €29 million to let the player leave.

The Premier League club is not, for now, willing to meet the Saints’ financial demands for the 24-year-old defender, who came through at Manchester City, although he never established himself with the Citizens and was loaned out to several clubs.

After missing out on Harwood-Bellis, Aston Villa are negotiating the signing of defender Joel Ordóñez from Club Brugge to fill the recent departure of Ezri Konsa to Arsenal. The proposed deal involves an initial loan with an обязательная purchase clause set at around €30 million, according to The Athletic.

Unai Emery’s side identified the 22-year-old Ecuador international as one of their main targets to strengthen the defence after closely monitoring him. The need to find a replacement for Konsa, whose transfer to Arsenal brought in €60 million, accelerated the interest in Ordóñez.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.