According to the Manchester Evening News, Leeds United are interested in signing Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
It’s claimed that Brentford have already made contact over potentially signing Harwood-Bellis if they win promotion to the Premier League.
The defender has more established Premier League interest though, with both Leeds and Brighton watching him very closely.
German clubs are also keen on Harwood-Bellis, meaning he could find himself as a wanted man in this summer’s transfer window.
The 19-year-old is currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers, gaining valuable first-team experience in the Championship before heading back to City this summer.
Pep Guardiola will soon face a decision on whether the Stockport-born defender is ready for more first-team action, and he could step up into Eric Garcia’s role behind the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake next season.
Guardiola even called Harwood-Bellis ‘exceptional’ last season, so it seems unlikely that City would let him go without putting up a fight.
Leeds do already have four centre backs in Diego Llorente, Robin Koch, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk, but injury issues mean Marcelo Bielsa and co could look to add another one – with Harwood-Bellis an option.
The Whites have been considering fellow City talent Luke Mbete, but seem to have switched their attention to Harwood-Bellis in the hope of luring at least one talented young centre back away from the Etihad Stadium.
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