Unai Emery signals to his Aston Villa players from the touchline
Unai Emery signals to his Aston Villa players from the touchline
Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
‘There’s a feeling’ that Aston Villa and Southampton are getting closer to an agreement for defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, despite Villa’s latest offer being rejected by the Saints.
The Europa League winners made a horrible start to their Premier League campaign, as they were handed a 4-0 loss by Brighton on Sunday; they were 4-0 down at half-time.
Unai Emery’s side are going through a big change and the recent departure of England defender Ezri Konsa to Arsenal is a big one for them to cope with.
Victor Lindelof and Pau Torres started Villa’s first league game and the recruitment team are trying to bring in Southampton’s Harwood-Bellis to give Emery more options.
In the winter window, West Ham United wanted him when they were in the Premier League, but failed with an offer for the defender.
Saints, though, are struggling to keep him at St. Mary’s, as the Villans are pushing to get a deal done for the 24-year-old.
It was suggested earlier this week that Villa were £7m away from meeting his valuation, but the gap is getting smaller now.
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According to German journalist Florian Plettenberg, Saints have rejected Aston Villa’s latest offer for Harwood-Bellis.
It has been suggested that the Birmingham club’s latest offer is a £24m package, with £20m of it as an upfront fee.
Despite the rejection, though, ‘there’s a feeling’ that the two clubs are now edging towards an agreement.
The Manchester City academy graduate has played 134 games for Southampton, with two years still remaining on his current deal.
He was not part of Southampton’s 3-1 win over Stoke City, indicating a move for the England-capped defender could well be on the cards.
Aston Villa have been looking at a host of central defenders, including Fikayo Tomori of AC Milan, but the focus for now appears to be firmly on Harwood-Bellis.