Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis earned himself an England international call-up in 2024, despite a poor domestic season in the Premier League.
The Saints finished the 2024/25 campaign on just 12 points, and Harwood-Bellis struggled as part of a backline that conceded a league-high 86 goals.
This season has been up and down for the 24-year-old, who came into the campaign nursing a niggling injury, then struggled to secure a place in former boss Will Still’s team.
But the appointment of young German head coach Tonda Eckert has spelt a new beginning for the side, and Harwood-Bellis in turn. Southampton have become a force to be reckoned with.
Harwood-Bellis is front and centre, and proving why he should be playing in a division above.
Since Tonda Eckert arrived at Southampton last November, Harwood-Bellis has completed the most touches (2,419) and successful passes (1,627) in the Championship.
Over two-thirds of the English defender’s touches under Eckert have been successful passes, showing what a progressive defender he has been in Southampton’s system since the German manager’s arrival.
And over the whole 2025/26 season, the 24-year-old has been involved in the most open-play sequences of 10+ passes leading to a goal out of Championship players – 14 out of the Saints’ 63 goals (22%).
Best suited to playing as the right centre back in a back four, Harwood-Bellis has become essential in build-up for Southampton.
Capable of sitting back and spraying passes long, as well as roaming into the opponents’ half and becoming more of a playmaker, as he did so well when the Saints played in a 3-back in Eckert’s first couple of months as manager, Harwood-Bellis is the epitome of a modern defender.
Harwood-Bellis didn’t disgrace himself in the Premier League, despite Southampton’s season going down as the second-worst in the top flight since 1992.
In a system under Russell Martin, where he was expected to bypass some of the world’s best pressing teams, quite frankly, Harwood-Bellis was a lamb to the slaughter.
But he often held his own, and won an England call-up, as well as seeing transfer interest from top-flight sides such as West Ham in the summer of 2025, which came to nothing.
In Southampton’s FA Cup meeting with Premier League outfit Fulham in March, Harwood-Bellis proved that he’s capable of performing against elite opposition when playing as part of an organised team, and Saints battled hard to win 1-0.
Seven passes into the final third and an 100% ground duels won rate showed how the 24-year-old has what it takes at the top level – and just needs to be part of a better set-up team to thrive.
Also a threat in the opposition’s box, Harwood-Bellis is the only Sport Republic signing who has reached 10 goals scored for the club since the ownership group’s acquisition of the club in 2022, out of 45 players bought in total.
Harwood-Bellis is becoming key to Southampton’s upsurge in form, as the club sits sixth in the Championship with seven games of the season remaining.
It’s clear that he’s ready for the step up – it’s a matter of whether his Southampton teammates are just as capable.
