HARWOOD-BELLIS RELISHING CLARETS MOVE

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Centre-back ready for loan switch at Turf Moor

2022-07-01T17:30:00.000Z

HARWOOD-BELLIS RELISHING CLARETS MOVE

Centre-back ready for loan switch at Turf Moor

2022-07-01T17:30:00.000Z

Centre-back ready for loan switch at Turf Moor

Defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis became Vincent Kompany's fourth signing of the summer transfer window on Friday evening.

The 20-year-old discusses the upcoming 2022/23 campaign after penning a season-long-loan deal from Manchester City.

Harwood-Bellis on getting the deal done:

“I’m buzzing with it. I obviously knew about it for a while, so I’m happy to get it all done, all the medical stuff done, and to get it all sorted.

“I feel like this will hopefully be the best season that I’ll have in the Championship with all the experience I’ve got and I’m looking forward to a good season. Hopefully it’s one with lots of success.

“I can’t wait to be at Turf Moor with the kit on and to express myself, and how much I love football. I want to win with the club and the fans, and I’m hoping to be well received by them.

“I want to play with the ball. I’m hungry to defend and I’ll do everything I can to keep the ball out the net.”

HARWOOD-BELLIS RELISHING CLARETS MOVE - Image 1

Harwood-Bellis on linking up with Vincent Kompany again

“I worked with him at Anderlecht for the first half of the [2021/22] season. It’s class working with him and when he called me again, I knew straight away [that I’d come].

“It was the same feeling as when he called me before I went to Anderlecht. It’s a big loan for me in my career and progression.

“I feel like it was the right decision to come here with the football club and the manager.

“It’s a compliment [that Kompany wants to work with me again]. I was buzzing when he called me and it was a no-brainer with the club, not just the manager, although he was a big part of it.

“I watched him growing up and he was the person I watched being a City fan. He was huge and to work under him again will be class, I’m looking forward to it.”

Harwood-Bellis on his time in Belgium with Kompany and what the boss said to him this time around

“It was massive for me in my life and in my progression in football. I really enjoyed it out there to be honest, it’s a good country and a good league.

“The club I was at was massive, and again the manager and the staff there were all brilliant. That made my decision quite easy to come here.

“[Kompany] said the same to me as he did when he was at Anderlecht. He’s come here to put his stamp on things and he’s got a plan for the club.

“Obviously, he’s a winner himself, and the thing I noticed at Anderlecht was that he makes everyone around him winners too.

“That was something I wanted to be a part of again and with the club, it’s matched with him as well. It’s huge, an easy decision.”

HARWOOD-BELLIS RELISHING CLARETS MOVE - Image 2

Harwood-Bellis on advice from City boss Pep Guardiola

“He told me the manager has to be right and the club has to be right for me as it’s a big part of my career.

“It’s the next stage and where I want to be so when a club like this comes knocking, it was the right step for what City wanted, for what I wanted, and for what Burnley wanted.”

Harwood-Bellis on his previous Championship experience

“I had two spells in the Championship, and I love the league. I feel like I’m quite experienced in it. Obviously I’ve got more to learn and to improve on, but I feel I’m experienced in terms of knowing the league quite well.

“It’s quick and it’s relentless, but that’s exactly why I wanted to come here. It’s a great league and I personally love it. It’s my ambition to get out of this league at the top with a club like Burnley. This is a good year for me to go and do that.

“I feel like I’m in a good stage to be at a team that’s going to be fighting to get promoted.”

Harwood-Bellis on the Clarets’ recent signings including CJ Egan-Riley

“I’ve seen the signings coming in and they’re good signings. They’re players that are doing well in their careers who are young and hungry just like me. There’s a good mix of players and I can’t wait to get going.

“I saw [CJ] before and it was good to see him. I went to school with CJ and I know him really well. He’s a class player and a class person, the type of person you want around the dressing room and that you want on the pitch with you with his quality.

“It’ll be good to work with him and it’s good for me to have a familiar face there. We can bring youth to the squad because we’re both young and we’re both hungry. We like to think that we’ve got a little bit of quality from the training we’ve had and the coaching we’ve had too.

“Hopefully we can bring that to the team but we’ll definitely bring a lot of hunger and desire to it as well.”