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Southampton and their new manager Will Still are preparing for life back in the Championship for 2025/26, but will Taylor Harwood-Bellis still be there come August?
It was a poor showing from Southampton in 2024/25, to say the least. The Saints finished rock bottom of the Premier League table, with a measly return of just 12 points.
With Will Still at the helm and no major departures as of yet, Southampton are looking likely to be one of the top teams in the Championship for the coming campaign.
While a dream summer transfer window for Southampton may include some strong signings, one of their best moves of the summer could be persuading Taylor Harwood-Bellis to stick around.
What Taylor Harwood-Bellis said about his future this week
Harwood-Bellis made his England debut back in November of last year, and actually scored in that 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland.
However, he’s not featured since, which is understandable given how things played out for Southampton during the remainder of the season.
Speaking to Sky Sports about his intentions to return to the international stage, Harwood-Bellis stated he is eager to be back in the Premier League.
He said: “Obviously it’s a dream to play for England, but I want to stay there; I don’t want to be a one-cap wonder. I’ve got a long way to go, and I wouldn’t say that I’m close to the team at the minute just because of how the season went.
“I’ve got to do a job, but personally and selfishly, to get back in the England squad I need to be in the Premier League.”
Southampton fans may be concerned that this is a come-and-get-me plea from the defender, but he did go on to suggest that he’s driven to succeed with the South coast club next season.
He added: “That’s another motivation for me. We need to get promoted then. Everyone knows that… we don’t want to be playing in the Championship.
“We’ve had a taste of it now and we’ve got the bit between our teeth to go and do a better job. It couldn’t have gone any worse… but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and go again.”
As per our Championship predictions for 2025/26, Harwood-Bellis may well get what he hopes for, with Southampton surely strong favourites to at least secure promotion.
Will Taylor Harwood-Bellis leave Southampton this summer?
The problem for Southampton is that keeping Harwood-Bellis will be difficult. We already know West Ham and Burnley are keen, and there are sure to be other suitors.
By the sounds of it, the player himself is generally happy to stay at the club and drag them back to the top flight. However, his England ambitions would surely see him make a switch if an approach came along, especially considering we are now in a World Cup year.
It would be a surprise if Harwood-Bellis is around at the start of the season, but the good thing for Southampton is that they are not necessarily under immense pressure to sell off their star players from a financial perspective.