Southampton have made a disjointed start to their Championship campaign under new manager Will Still, as they sit midtable ahead of the international break.
The Saints could only muster a draw against Watford at the weekend, as Nestory Irankunda scored a late goal to equalise at Vicarage Road.
Will Still has been busy adding to his squad ahead of the close of the transfer window, with his squad starting to take shape under him.
Southampton have recently added Finn Azaz to the team from Middlesbrough, and their most recent signing is the Danish international Elias Jelert on loan.
However, they have lost some big names this summer, as they saw Tyler Dibling leave for Everton and Mateus Fernandes join West Ham.
Now it appears they will have to fight off Graham Potter and the Hammers from signing another one of their stars.
Will Still denies Taylor Harwood-Bellis will leave for West Ham
Southampton have already seen two of their stars from last season depart the club to join West Ham this summer, as Mateus Fernandes left for a hefty fee while Kyle Walker-Peters joined for free.
Now Will Still has addressed the rumours of star defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis leaving to join West Ham on deadline day.
As reported in the Southern Daily Echo, he said: “They want another one of our players?
Taylor Harwood-Bellis for Southampton
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
“I don’t think Taylor was ever for sale, to be honest. I love West Ham, but [they can] stay off him.”
Taylor Harwood-Bellis on his Southampton future
While an opinion of a footballer can turn on the flip of a coin, Taylor Harwood-Bellis has said that he is committed to Southampton and that he wants to battle for promotion this season and a return to the Premier League.
Speaking with Sky Sports in June, he said: “It’s the dream to play for England, and my dream came true. You want to stay there and not be a one-cap wonder.
“I’ve got a long way to go. I wouldn’t say I’m mad close to the team at the minute, with the season going the way it went.
“At the end of the day, it’s how you do it at your club. Personally, if I look at it selfishly, to get back in the England squad, I need to be playing well in the Premier League.
“That means we have got to get promoted, then. If I want to play for England, we’ve got to get promoted. People around me know that, and I think the fans know that as well.
“We don’t want to be playing in the Championship; we want to be playing in the Premier League. We’ve got a taste of it now.
“We’ve got the bit between our teeth to go and do a better job. It couldn’t have gone any worse in the Premier League last time. We’ve got to put that wrong, right.”