‘Unbelievable’… Ipswich Town star claims Man City have a superb teenage defender on their books

Leif Davis, an Ipswich Town defender, has lavished praise on Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

The centre-back joined Southampton on loan during the previous summer transfer window, marking his seventh loan spell away from Manchester United.

Since then, the 21-year-old has been an important figure for the Saints, starting 22 of the 23 Championship games he has played in.

Now, another Championship defender has spoken out about the City loanee.

Davis praises Harwood-Bellis

In a recent Football Daily video, Davis discussed Harwood-Bellis, who he selected as a defensive option for his Championship XI made up of players aged 21 and under.

He stated, “He had a good year last year, an unbelievable season, and this year you can see why he’s a top, top player at such a young age.”

“He’s so comfortable on the ball that he’ll battle for everything, a header, a tackle, whatever. That is what you need from a centre-half; you don’t want a centre-half who doesn’t want to do the dirty work, and he will do it all.”

This season in the Championship, the Englishman has the second-highest total of clearances (69) and blocks (25) at Southampton, as well as winning more aerial duels (39) than any other player at the club prior to their recent 3-1 victory over Swansea City.

This supports Davis’ claim that Harwood-Bellis is not hesitant to do the defensive effort his team requires him to do.

The City loanee’s overall performance this season has earned him a WhoScored rating of 6.97/10, giving him the fourth-highest-rated player at Southampton.

With all of this in mind, it’s clear why Davis has been so appreciative of Harwood-Bellis.

If Southampton earn promotion to the Premier League at the conclusion of the season, they will need to sign Harwood-Bellis permanently for about £20 million.

If that happens, City may come to regret including this duty in the defender’s loan arrangement with Southampton.