West Ham United most advanced team in £15m hunt for Manchester City ace Taylor Harwood-Bellis, deal gone quiet
West Ham have “gone quiet” on a move for Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis despite being the most advanced for a £15m deal, according to Leeds-Live.
Writing on their official website (2 August), the news outlet report that the Hammers had made the most progress on a deal for the England Under-21 captain this summer.
But they have since gone quiet on a deal, with Man City hoping to rake in £15m for a permanent sale, and talks with West Ham have stalled allowing other clubs to gain confidence.
“Pep Guardiola’s side would prefer a £15m permanent exit, but if suitors fail to bite, that price may drop and the prospect of another loan would be realistic,” they wrote.
“West Ham United have shown the most advanced interest in the defender this summer, but progress has stalled.”
Why?
This has been a really odd transfer window for West Ham United so far, and stories like this keep coming out and adding to frustration.
Sky Sports reported that the club were progressing in talks for James Ward-Prowse before reporting that a deal was off just an hour later, and now a deal is back on the table.
This sort of indecision is going to leave us in a big pickle once the season begins, as we remain the only team yet to add to our squad during the summer transfer window despite losing Declan Rice in a £105m deal to Arsenal.
We clearly need to strengthen at centre-back this summer after losing Craig Dawson mid-season and with Angelo Ogbonna being another year older, and Harwood-Bellis would provide fantastic competition and depth in the position.
£15m is a fair price despite the fact he only has one-year remaining on his deal, so the club should have no issues getting this one done. It’s poor from the board and it’s going to cost us.
In other West Ham news, the club are considering a shock u-turn after another transfer twist.