Keane's £25m son-in-law Harwood-Bellis dealt crushing Aston Villa blow

Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been omitted from Aston Villa's 23-man Champions League squad - just days after moving to Villa Park.

The central defender, 24, completed a protracted £25million switch from Southampton to Villa on transfer deadline day following weeks of speculation over a move away. Harwood-Bellis' arrival strengthens Villa's defence after they reluctantly sanctioned the sale of Ezri Konsa to Arsenal last month.

Harwood-Bellis could make his Premier League debut for Villa this weekend when they travel to Hull - but it's a different story when it comes to Europe.

Due to only having two “club-trained” players, Villa are only permitted to name a 23-man 'A list' squad rather than the usual 25 limit. And Harwood-Bellis is one of the unlucky ones who has failed to make the cut.

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He is the only summer signing not to be registered, with Zion Suzuki, Matteo Ruggeri, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Leon Goretzka, Joao Gomes, Johan Manzambi, Nicolas Jackson, Alejandro Garnacho and Ibahim Mbaye all in the squad.

Harwood-Bellis' move to Villa Park descended into a bit of a saga during the final weeks of the window with Villa initially failing to meet Southampton's valuation for the defender, who represented England back in 2024. The Saints were almost promoted to the Premier League themselves last season, reaching the final of the Championship play-offs before being expelled over 'Spygate'.

Roy Keane, Harwood-Bellis' father-in-law, alluded to some of the difficulties of the situation behind the scenes and lauded the former Saints player's professionalism during the situation, telling the The Overlap: “He is a lot more professional than I was.

“Really good kid. He has a lot of ups and downs as any footballers do and waiting for the deal to go through.

“He does not speak to me much about it. I have boundaries with him and I won’t be interfering with his business. Every now and again you might just give a bit of advice but not I would not be overbearing. He has his own stuff to do.”

The former Manchester United and Ireland midfielder added: “That last year as [Southampton] were kicked out of the play-offs I think Villa is a great move for him.”

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