Russell Martin backs Southampton man to play for England 'many times'

The 22 year old centre-back will now join Saints on a permanent basis after their promotion to the Premier League triggered the obligation to buy clause in his loan deal.

Southampton will pay £20million for a player who played 43 times during their successful Championship campaign.

Harwood-Bellis was England's under-21 captain when they won the UEFA European Championship in 2023.

He also has previous experience training with Gareth Southgate's senior squad having stepped up from under-21s training at St George's Park many times.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis wearing his Under-21 Euro winners medal (Image: PA)

READ MORE: 'Can't wait' - Harwood-Bellis buzzing as promotion triggers permanent Saints transfer

Martin is hopeful that Southampton's promotion to the Premier League can help the Manchester City academy graduate take further steps towards his England dream.

Asked how pleased he is that Harwood-Bellis will remain in his squad next season, Martin said: "I don't know how much we paid for him but whatever it was, it'll be worth it for sure.

"I joked to him this before the game, I said that the biggest motivation for me was to win so he can carry on working with me and will be stuck with me.

"I genuinely mean it. One of the reasons why I was so desperate to win was to continue working with him.

"I really believe he'll go and play for his country many, many times and I hope we can help him on his journey to get there."

Speaking to Southampton's media team earlier this season, Harwood-Bellis described what it was like training alongside England's elite.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis was pictured training with England in November (Image: PA)

He said: “I’ve trained with them before when it’s not been made public. I trained with them last season as well.

“It wasn’t made public those times, which I probably prefer. It was a really good experience to train with the senior team.

"Going forward in my career, it’s obviously about making sure I’m with them permanently. It’s really good to test yourself, but all of them are a joke.

"The standard of training is unbelievable. There’s not a player that stands out that you think, ‘he’s not up to it’. They’re all different class – it’s a completely different level.”