By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
According to Mail Sport, Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis is once again on West Ham’s shortlist as the Hammers continue their search for defensive reinforcements.
West Ham’s links to Harwood-Bellis appear to have taken on Youssef En-Nesyri-like proportions in recent times.
As Hammers fans won’t need reminding, we were consistently linked with the Moroccan forward for transfer window after transfer window without anything ever actually happening. Now, for what feels like the fourth window running, West Ham are again being linked with a move for Harwood-Bellis.
A Familiar Name Returns
There’s no doubt the former England international would be a good addition to our Championship squad.
The former Manchester City academy graduate has already shown excellent leadership qualities despite still being relatively young, and he certainly looks the sort of defender capable of making the step back up to the Premier League.
Whether this latest report develops into anything more concrete remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a rumour that refuses to go away.
West Ham have been linked to Harwood Bellis on countless occasions
Koppen Won’t Need To Look Far
With West Ham seemingly missing out on the chance to sign Axel Disasi, Claret & Hugh readers will know Nils Koppen is expected to remain active in the search for central defenders.
If Harwood-Bellis is genuinely under consideration, he won’t need to look very far for a scouting report.
There are probably plenty of them kicking around Rush Green already.
For me, THB is a decent player but I’ve heard this particular rumour too many times to get invested.
Agree Gonzo. In fact based on early signs of how the club is being run these days I suspect the names being linked are decoys and we’re actually working on other deals behind the scenes.
It’s the hope that kills you but I’m starting to buy into the fact we’re actually being run like a proper football club.
Exciting times