Micah Richards believes Manchester City loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis is a “quality player”.
Harwood-Bellis, who is currently on loan at Southampton in the Championship was lauded by Richards, both for his ongoing displays as well as for his stint at Burnley on The Rest Is Football podcast.
Ipswich Town left-back Leif Davis recently praised the Englishman for having an “unbelievable” season for the Saints and added that he is a “top, top” player for his age.
Micah Richards praises “quality” Manchester City youngster Taylor Harwood-Bellis
The 21-year-old is enjoying a fruitful spell out on loan in the Championship, starting 22 out of 28 league games for Southampton this campaign.
Russell Martin’s side are currently in second place in the division, with the Manchester City academy graduate being the perfect fit for his possession-based philosophy.
Micah Richards has heaped praise on Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who has made a name for himself in a Southampton shirt on loan.
“[Taylor] Harwood-Bellis, yes! He was at Burnley! Burnley, yes!”
“Him, was at the back and he was brilliant in there and I thought he might actually get a move to the Premier League, a Premier League loan, to be honest. But yeah, he’s a quality player, centre-half and it’s good to see him doing well because it’s difficult for a young player to play centre-half when there’s so much responsibility on him but he’s thriving”, he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“He’ll be a very good Premier League player one day.”
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is likelier to thrive away from the Etihad Stadium
Taylor Harwood-Bellis merits the praise he received from Micah Richards and other pundits for his cracking performances this season.
However, when assessing his prospects at Manchester City, it looks like it would be best for the youngster’s career if he considered an exit, in our view.
At the end of the day, the competition for places, especially in the centre of defence at the Etihad Stadium make it next to impossible for Taylor Harwood-Bellis to get regular minutes.
After all, even several top centre-backs would struggle to break their way into a team amongst a roster that includes John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol.
Considering how versatile all the aforementioned defenders are as well, it would be unlikely that Harwood-Bellis is afforded game time as a makeshift full-back as well.
As a result, perhaps it would be the best move for his career to bid farewell to City in favour of regular starts at the highest level, be it in the Premier League or another one of Europe’s best leagues.
