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Taylor Harwood-Bellis enjoyed a stunning loan spell with Burnley as they won the Championship in 2022/23

Burnley have been successful in working the Premier League loan market in recent years, with many players coming and going while making a real impact at Turf Moor.

The Clarets endured a hectic finale to the summer transfer window this year, with chairman Alan Pace coming under intense scrutiny from supporters amid a firesale of various assets including Wilson Odobert, Dara O'Shea, Ameen Al Dakhil, Anass Zaroury and Sander Berge.

He did, however, manage to save face ever so slightly as Burnley sought to make a host of exciting loan captures late on, with Bashir Humphreys, Jaidon Anthony and Jeremy Sarmiento all heading to Lancashire on season-long deals from the top flight of English football.

There is good reason to success Anthony and Sarmiento in particular will enjoy successful stays at Burnley.

With that said, though, the loan deal to bring Taylor Harwood-Bellis to Burnley from Manchester City in 2022 will take some beating - and Clarets supporters will rightly remenisce over his influence for years to come yet.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis' loan at Burnley from Man City was incredibly successful

Harwood-Bellis joined Burnley on loan in the summer 2022, having steadily built up his reputation through impressive temporary stints with Blackburn Rovers, Anderlecht and Stoke City.

Vincent Kompany's connections at the Etihad Stadium no doubt played a key role in brokering the deal, and he also brought Arijanet Muric and CJ Egan-Riley to Burnley that summer.

Harwood-Bellis, however, proved the pick of the bunch and became an instant success under Kompany's tuition.

A right-footed ball-playing central defender with a schooling in City's vaunted youth system, Harwood-Bellis was expertly equipped to fulfil Kompany's modus operandi of building out from the back, playing between the lines and dominating possession at all costs.

Despite being just 20 years of age at the time of signing, Harwood-Bellis' performances belied his youth and he stood out among the finest defenders in the division that season.

He was imperious at the back when called upon, although that was a somewhat rare occurrence given the magnitude of Burnley's domination.

However, he still orchestrated a crucial role in ensuring the Clarets were structured and solid defensively without possession, with his excellent awareness, intelligence of reading the game showcased by completing 59 interceptions - a return vastly superior to the low number of tackles he made.

No player at Burnley registered more interceptions that season, despite how intensely they strived to recover possession in the middle of the park.

Burnley lost on just three occasions throughout the campaign, and unsurprisingly lifted the title with 103 points to their name, seeing them with a staggering cushion of 21 points over third-placed Luton Town.

The likes of Nathan Tella, Manuel Benson and Anass Zaroury were all exceptional in the final third, but Burnley's ability to see games out and very rarely get broken down by their opponents was also pivotal en-route to being crowned as champions at a canter.

No team in the Championship conceded less goals per match than Burnley's 0.8 as they let in just 35 overall, kept 21 clean sheets and conceded the lowest xG across the division with 39.1, too. Make no mistake about it, Harwood-Bellis was a huge part of that.

Burnley supporters will have one eye on Southampton and Taylor Harwood-Bellis this season

Harwood-Bellis spent the previous season back on loan in the Championship at Southampton, whom he helped achive promotion through the play-offs.

The 22-year-old was, once again, a vital performer under another possession-heavy coach in Russell Martin and played 43 times for the Saints last term, making a similarly significant impression.

Their obligation to purchase the defender for £20m was triggered following May's play-off final victory over Leeds United, and he has started each of Southampton's opening three Premier League encounters.

Harwood-Bellis did make a real gaffe up against the lively Kevin Schade during their most recent outing against Brentford, falling over in the build-up to Bryan Mbeumo's opener as the Bees went on to win 3-1, but his ability remains in little doubt and Burnley supporters will hope to see him solidify himself in the top-flight of English football after such a memorable stay at Turf Moor.