Manchester City: Akanji transfer was ‘a difficult case’ for Harwood-Bellis

Growth among 21 loan players

Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been playing for Manchester City since he was six years old – more homegrown than that. If the 20-year-old central defender, who is on loan to Burnley FC this season, wants to play for the Premier League champions in the medium term, his competition was the most valuable central defender quartet in the world until September 1st. On Deadline Day, it became a quintet thanks to Manuel Akanji (27) from BVB.

“Obviously it was tough to see them sign another centre-back but when you look at the quality of that centre-back it’s a tough case,” Harwood-Bellis toldTimes“. “He’s incredible in interaction with the others,” says the long-distance loanee, who is one of the ten most valuable players under 20 in his position.

“To be fair, everyone knows it’s difficult” to break into Man City’s first-team, said Harwood-Bellis, who is one of 15 Citizens U21 players currently on loan to another club accrue There are another six loaned professionals from the Premier League squad – all in all, the champion is currently lending 21 footballers with a market value of around 80 million euros.

50 million market value
The Man City U21 loan playersTo overview
In Pep Guardiola’s squad there are only two homegrown players, Phil Foden (22) and Cole Palmer (20). That’s not to say the Citizens’ Academy doesn’t create and mold talent, but of late it’s been loaned or sold rather than used by the Skyblues. With Gavin Bazunu (20), Roméo Lavia (18) and Juan Larios (18), City sold three of their talents to FC Southampton last summer – cost: 33.3 million euros.

Burnley has been the fourth loan station for Harwood-Bellis since 2021: before that it went to Blackburn, Anderlecht and Stoke. “I’m just concentrating on what I have to do with Burnley and hopefully help the club rise,” said the England Under-21 international. Man City’s quartet of centre-backs consisting of Rúben Dias (25), John Stones (28), Nathan Aké (27), Akanji and the currently injured Aymeric Laporte (28) cost a good 255 million euros in transfers – as does Harwood-Bellis Everyone can imagine the chances of minutes in 2023/24.

“I never doubted myself and if I get a chance I will take it, but for me personally it was the best thing to let me go on loan – especially because the coach’s name is Vincent Kompany,” said the contract until 2024 standing talent. He has already played under Ex-Citizen Kompany during his six months in Belgium and is seeded in the second division of England this season.

He has made eight appearances for Manchester City in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League to date, but has not yet made it to the Premier League. Along with Parker, who has been part of Guardiola’s squad since 2021/22, Harwood-Bellis is the champion’s most valuable home-grown player after Foden.

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