Burnley Chasing Southampton Defender
Friday, 23rd Jan 2026 09:09

The transfer rumour mill is starting to turn as we approach the last week of the window and the latest claim is that Taylor Harwood-Bellis is hot property , Burnley and two other Premier League clubs are said to be chasing his signature.

According to the72.co.uk Taylor Harwood- Bellis is wanted by Premier League club Burnley.

Other reports also claim that at least two other Premier League clubs are interests in the Saints defender.

The transfer window deadline is Monday 2nd January so the clock is ticking.

THB is under contract until the summer of 2028, so Southampton are under no pressure to sell and if they do they will be looking to at least recoup the £20 million they paid for him in 2024.

But there are two questions to be asked about whether Burnley's interest is real and the first is what division they are likely to be in next season, as we speak they are second from bottom on 14 points, 8 points away from Nottingham Forest on 22 points who are 4th from bottom and with Leeds in the 5th from bottom spot on 25 points, it is developing into a 4 horse race for the 3 relegation spots.

Burnley's chances of escaping relegation will be diminishing fast if they fail to beat Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, even if Forest don't win, clawing back 8 points with just 15 games is going to be a big ask.

That being the case then the Lancashire club are perhaps going to baulk at paying out their joint record fee for a player that is unlikely to save them from the drop, to play in the Championship next season.

Ironically their two record fee's so far are both for former loanee's at St Mary's, at the start of the season, they paid £25 million for Lesley Ugochukwu and £20 million for Armando Broja, both from their parent club Chelsea.

The second question is whether Harwood-Bellis himself would want to go to Burnley, at least at this moment in time, although some Saints fans will laugh at this, I would say that the club have a better chance of being in the Premier League than Burnley at this time, that may change in the coming month or so, but THB doesn't have that much time to reflect.

He may prefer to bide his time to the summer and see where the land lays then.

So I don't think that he will leave for Burnley, however if an established Premier League club come in now, one who are not threated by relegation, then perhaps his decision will be different.

All Photos Via Reuters

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SaintPaulVW added 09:28 - Jan 23 Played well for us the last time we were in the Championship but poorly since then. Let's face it , less CB's, less ability to play 5 at the back. Possibly, a win win.
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saintmark1976 added 09:47 - Jan 23 Nick, I think you will find that the current transfer window ends on the 2nd of February ? As for us playing in The Premier League any time soon. On the basis of recent performances I sincerely hope not because it would turn out worse than our last pathetic effort. We need to avoid relegation this season and try and stabilise, hopefully with new owners.
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Block8 added 10:10 - Jan 23 Fact is he is the best of our CB'S and his performances have improved. He looks happy in a four & a bit lost in a three, so maybe it depends on Tonda! Now if we could swap Wood for a decent CB, that would be great 😇
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halftimeorange added 11:03 - Jan 23

I've always thought that THB is a decent player who would have blossomed in a better side than ours (for the last two seasons). As for recovering our outlay of £20m for him, I think in today's mad world, we should be asking for £30M. It would then be another example of our not having to be in the EPL to make a profit for the shareholders, which many suspect is Sport Republic's main objective.

StRipper added 12:00 - Jan 23

THB has been the best performing CB this season. So unless we have someone better in our sights to replace him, selling THB could be the difference between looking up or down for what's left of this season.
I would hope that THB and another developing talent (i.e. Not Wood or Stephens) would build a partnership. So probably Quarshie right now and maybe Sanda for next season, who for some reason Eckert is currently blind to.
So on that basis, with Sorts Republic, I expect we'll sell THB and Sanda before next season and go with Wood and Stephens as our starting CBs.

kenis added 12:12 - Jan 23 I would have been ok with selling THB this window on basis we had Ronnie Edwards there and waiting to play in his position. Now we've sold him for a bargain price will look ridiculous if we sell THB - even if its for £20m - and then have to spend £10m+ on someone worse than Edwards...
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Jesus_02 added 13:06 - Jan 23

THB is a prime example of how out club has faded. We have taken the England U21 captain who has a senior cap and gradually erroded his confidence and performances buit trying to make him fit ours system. We have some great players at the club but we soarly miss leadership on and off the pitch. I have no issues with Jack Stephens as he should and probably is good enough for this division b ut he is knowheer near the leadershio we need. In the same way that we have needed a senior forward since Ings left we have needed a senior defender and midfielder. Past thier prime options clearly havent worked will Walcott , Lallana and now Romeu.

THB would have florished next to a compitant experience pro. He still could if we ever got one in. I cant see that happeneing and I imagine THB cant and will soon enough be looking to rescue his career.

underweststand added 16:17 - Jan 23

I read a posting that mentioned " loyalty ", a word that had disappeared in the Saints vocabulary after MLT retired. So will THB wait until the end of the season, or has he already accepted we don't stand a chance of a quick return to the Prem. and will go now. The answer to that one will be clear after Feb.2 in which case we will need to sign a new CB from somewhere PDQ before the window shuts.

The fact that the interest comes from Burnley (who like Saints) have twice yo-yo'd between the divisions in the last 4 years. In their first promotion Burnley had both THB and Nathan Tella on loan. Tella was their top scorer by a country mile, and THB showed up well, but Burnley then insisted they would only pay 9 million for Tella (Saints wanted 14), and so they let both return to their clubs. We later sold Tella to Germany (for a reported 22 mill.) and then we bought in THB in at the same time. Both these mistakes led to Burnley's instant relegation in the first season.
Burnley may have learned the lesson, because if we do let THB go, we must be sure to get a good deal in the process.