West Ham United could turn to a player that Pep Guardiola has already given his seal of approval to, in a bid to answer their defensive issues.
While reports have suggested West Ham are close to signing Axel Disasi, there has been yet another twist in the saga.
Indeed, there appears to be no guarantee that particular move will actually happen during what remains of the January transfer window.
On a scale of 1-10, how much does Axel Disasi actually improve West Ham’s defence? 👀
Not to knock him as a player, but he’s hardly played in months!
As such, alternatives are being sought before the window slams shut. One of those is Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Now plying his trade towards the bottom of the Championship with Southampton, the one-cap England international has previously been highly rated.
West Ham have been linked with Harwood-Bellis before and, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, the club are considering a move for the 24-year-old once more.
With that in mind, it’s worth looking at what a certain Pep Guardiola once said about him.
Pep Guardiola has praised Taylor Harwood-Bellis for set-piece threat
The defender came through the ranks at City but a senior career at the club never really worked out.
Harwood-Bellis made his debut under Guardiola in 2019 but only ever made eight appearances at senior level for his boyhood club.
Still, back in 2024, Guardiola was full of praise for the defender and spoke of his ability to thrive in set-piece situations.
He told Manchester City’s official website at the time: “He’s an incredible threat for Southampton from set pieces and a composer when they have the ball because the manager insists the way they have to play, they have to be close, to move differently.”
Who would West Ham have to sign now for it to be as big of a shock as when we signed Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano? 😂
Please let us know how you felt about it at the time too! 👇
West Ham’s dreadful record from set-pieces this season
Clearly, Harwood-Bellis has previously done enough to impress Guardiola with his ability from set-piece situations.
In fact, he even scored a fine header when making his debut for England against the Republic of Ireland back in November 2024.
Perhaps a player of his profile could help the Hammers with their dire record from set-pieces this season.
Only two teams (Bournemouth and Liverpool) have conceded more goals from them than the Irons (13).
On the flip side, they’ve only scored seven times from them, which is hardly enough for a side looking to keep games tight and perhaps edge them with a set-piece goal.
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