Southampton will only sign Taylor Harwood-Bellis permanently if they are promoted to the Premier League.
That is because of the terms of the defender’s loan agreement from Manchester City, which includes an obligation to buy for £20 million if the Saints go up.
Russell Martin and his players already know that will not happen automatically after a dismal recent run of form that has culminated in three consecutive defeats.
Therefore, Southampton‘s only hope of signing Harwood-Bellis in the summer hinge entirely on the play-offs.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis has had brilliant Southampton season
This is Harwood-Bellis’ fourth Championship loan and it is likely to be his last.
The England under-21 captain is a prime example of the benefits of the loan system, as he has racked up 139 senior appearances despite being just 22 according to Transfermarkt.
This is incredibly rare for a central defender in particular, with it being a position that players usually find opportunities harder to come by in.
Harwood-Bellis was a key part of the Championship winning Burnley side last season and his performances this season have reinforced that he is a Premier League player.
That is exactly where he will be next season, regardless of whether it is with Southampton or not.
Therefore, Southampton should be preparing for the fact that if their play-off bid is unsuccessful there is almost no chance that they will see the City loanee join permanently.
Southampton should sign Ronnie Edwards to replace Harwood-Bellis
It would be bitterly disappointing for Southampton to fall short in the play-offs, but their recent form has left fans with little optimism for the post-season clashes.
Failure to secure promotion would mean they have a huge Harwood-Bellis shaped hole to fill in the centre of the defence.
Given his footballing education has come at City, Harwood-Bellis is supremely comfortable on the ball which is why Martin was so keen to bring him to the south coast club.
Despite this, he also possesses an old school ruggedness to his defending.
The combination of the two is what is likely to see the defender go right to the top of the game and Southampton will struggle to replace him.
However, one player who could be brought in to try and do just that is Peterborough United’s Ronnie Edwards.
Edwards is a year Harwood-Bellis’ junior at 21 but has played 142 senior games.
The youngster has really benefitted from that amount of football so early in his career and has developed at an extraordinary rate.
Like Harwood-Bellis, Edwards is extremely confident on the ball but has the physicality and reading off the game off it that make him such an attractive proposition.
Like Southampton, Edwards is gearing up for the play-offs, with the centre-back being crucial to Peterborough’s fourth-placed finish in League One making 42 appearances and scoring twice.
A player performing so well at such a young age does not go unnoticed and there has been Premier League interest, so Southampton would not be without competition to sign Edwards.
Speaking on the speculation in January, Posh manager Darren Ferguson said: “There will be daily speculation about Ronnie until the transfer window shuts. That’s just because of how good he is.”
“His last two performances against good sides have been excellent. He was just outstanding against Leeds last week.”
