TAYLOR HARWOOD-BELLIS has had a taste of life at the top.
Now England’s latest new-boy must turn his attention to taking on the best in the Premier League right now — and help shift Southampton off the bottom.
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The 22-year-old became the EIGHTH player to be handed a Three Lions debut during Lee Carsley’s interim spell in charge when coming on against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday in the Nations League.
And he followed up Liverpool’s Curtis Jones’ feat versus Greece by also marking his bow with a goal to cap a blistering 5-0 win.
Returning to the reality of Saints’ relegation battle must have been some comedown after such a high, particularly with imperious league-leaders the Reds up next.
But while Harwood-Bellis is still buzzing to have proved he can mix it with the elite in this country, it is already just a memory ahead of Arne Slot’s winning machine — complete with a bang-in-form Mo Salah — rocking up at St Mary’s on Sunday.
The centre-back told BBC Radio Solent this week: “England is the pinnacle. The best English players, the best in the world are all there in one dressing room.
“I’ve just got to focus on Liverpool. I’m not too bad at changing focus. Me scoring for England has not hidden the fact that we’re bottom of the league and we’ve got a big game on Sunday. That’s all my focus.”
Brighton-born Southampton boss Russell Martin joked that Harwood-Bellis has barely stopped talking about it since his returning to training this week.
Martin, who won 29 Scotland caps, said: “We have to make sure he keeps his feet on the ground but everyone’s so happy for him.
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“If I’d played for England for ten minutes, I wouldn’t have shut up about it either.
“I’d hammered in Scotland for saying that, wouldn’t I? I was really proud to play for Scotland, so make sure that goes in there!
“I did celebrate his goal. We were all immensely proud of him at the club.
“I see his mum and dad at games so when I see them next, I’m sure I’ll give them a hug and say congratulations.
“I know they’ll be extremely proud and they know he’s in good hands here with the amount of care and love he gets.”
Harwood-Bellis’ headed goal at Wembley has been the talk of Saints’ training base this week, with team-mate Flynn Downes leading the banter.
Midfielder Downes, 25, went to Wembley with Harwood-Bellis’ friends and family on Sunday as ex-Manchester City starlet Taylor made his first appearance.
It was lucky he had not made it against Greece in Athens three days earlier, else his dad Martin and mum Tina would have missed it, having already booked a holiday to Cape Verde.
Harwood-Bellis is another success story to come out of Stockport, along with fellow England internationals Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo.
Dad Martin, who used to be Stockport County’s mascot Vernon Bear sensed his son might have a future in the game as a toddler.
He revealed to BBC Radio Manchester: “The very, very early signs were when he was 18 months old and he was pretending to dive like a Premiership footballer.
“He dived and broke his leg. A slight fracture. He had a plaster on his leg, I’ve still got the plaster, it’s only so big. He was still kicking a ball with a plaster on and he was kicking it straight to me. In fact he was kicking it better than I was kicking it to him and I had two good legs!”
Harwood-Bellis’ old man also revealed how his son used to study football shows like Match of the Day, as well as what he saw from watching Stockport live, and implement what he had learnt at local side Spurley Hey.
The youngster’s talent was quickly spotted and by six he had joined City.
He was playing for England by Under-15 level, in an age group that included Tino Livramento, Morgan Rogers, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer and also had Jude Bellingham playing a year up.
Harwood-Bellis’ leadership qualities — attributes his future father-in-law Roy Keane would appreciate — saw him regularly named skipper for club and country.
He was known for his dedication, setting of standards in training and how vocal he was on the pitch as well as discipline off it.
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That sees him still today inspect the labels of all food at his parents’ house for fat content before eating it. City rated him highly but given the competition in Pep Guardiola’s first team, a series of loans began before one which ended in a permanent move to Saints.
At Anderlecht and Burnley, the defender learned about detail and a relentless drive to win from working with Vincent Kompany.
Phil Jagielka taught him about the dark arts of defending at Stoke.
It was surprising to see no Premier League side sign him two summers ago, after he had captained England to Under-21 Euros glory.
More physical defenders with a quicker top speed over the first ten-15 metres were favoured.
But that overlooked Harwood-Bellis impressive reading of the game, with one of his former coaches telling SunSport: “Taylor always has an extra yard in his head.”
Southampton, then a Championship side, did not initially think they would be able to attract Harwood-Bellis.
That was until a season-long loan deal, with a £20million permanent option on promotion, was proposed via TransferRoom, the digital football marketplace that more than 700 clubs worldwide use.
Sam Stanton, Saints’ head of scouting operations, said at the time: “We never thought he’d be available to us. So when he was pitched to us, we were really excited straight away.”
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