Burnley set to beat Celtic to signing of 20-year-old defender | OneFootball

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Football League World

·1 July 2022

Burnley set to beat Celtic to signing of 20-year-old defender

Article image:Burnley set to beat Celtic to signing of 20-year-old defender

Championship newcomers Burnley are closing in on the signing of Manchester City starlet Taylor Harwood-Bellis – and in the process they are set to beat Scottish Premiership champions Celtic to his signature, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

The Clarets have already been incredibly active in the transfer market, having brought in both Scott Twine and Luke McNally from MK Dons and Oxford United respectively, whilst a raid of Belgium is ongoing for Jackson Muleka and Samuel Bastien of Standard Liege.


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Inevitably though, Kompany was always going to use his links to his former club City to acquire a top talent or two, and he appears to have won the race for Harwood-Bellis.

25 quiz questions about Burnley managers from over the years that will really test your knowledge

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Article image:Burnley set to beat Celtic to signing of 20-year-old defender

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The 20-year-0ld has been linked with the Lancashire outfit for a number of weeks, having spent the 2021-22 campaign out on loan – firstly under Kompany’s management at Anderlecht before seeing out the remainder of the season at Stoke City.

Now, Harwood-Bellis – a centre-back with eight senior Man City appearances to his name and 11 caps for the England under-21’s – is returning from his holiday to put pen-to-paper on a loan deal with the Clarets, and in-turn has rejected the chance to move north of the border, with Celtic also very keen on signing him.

The Verdict

Kompany is re-shaping Burnley’s back-line in a major way following the departures of Ben Mee and James Tarkowski this summer.

It’s a job that needed doing, and it’s one that still may need some additional work if a Premier League club comes in with a major offer for Nathan Collins.

In Harwood-Bellis though, Burnley are gaining a player with a good amount of experience already at a decent level considering he is only 20 years of age.

There’s potentially no better manager to develop under right now in England as a defender as well than Kompany considering what the Belgian did as a player, so you get the feeling that Harwood-Bellis is making the right move in turning down Celtic to head to Turf Moor.

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