What will the Southampton starting XI look like when the first ball is kicked to start the 2026/27 campaign in the Championship?
It looks likely that Leo Scienza and Shea Charles won't be featuring as they continue to be linked with a wide array of Premier League clubs, from Leeds United to Everton.
Southampton's mainstay defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis could also be on the move, as the Saints captain - who has lined up for the South Coast side 132 times - is surely itching for a Premier League return.
He is being looked at by several Premier League onlookers, but he is subject to further interest from an ambitious Championship club...
Where will Harwood-Bellis move to?
Harwood-Bellis is deserving of a top-flight move, too, having just come off the back of an excellent individual season for Tonda Eckert's men, even if it ended in the disaster of Spygate.
He would collect seven goals as a titan in the air, but he would also win a valiant 5.7 duels on average per second-tier game as a warrior defensively for his team's cause. Amassing 12 clean sheets, too, Harwood-Bellis made defending last campaign in the second tier look straightforward.
He is unlikely to want to slog it out in the Championship for another season; therefore, and he is catching the eye of the newly promoted pack in both Hull City and Coventry City, as the Tigers and the Sky Blues make adjustments here and there to get their respective sides ready for the daunting task of the top-flight.
West Ham United, who have been long-term admirers, also remain keen, despite suffering relegation, with Harwood-Bellis breaking Saints hearts everywhere if he were to move to another team in the same division.
He would be excused for favouring a move up a league; on the other hand, even if it is to a club that will be expected to immediately slide back down.
If he were to pick Coventry over moving to the playoff final winners, the one-time England international would have to put his past grievances with Frank Lampard to one side, with Harwood-Bellis clashing with the ex-Chelsea legend, turned successful Sky Blues boss, when Southampton faced the recently crowned second-tier champions earlier in the whirlwind campaign.
He would have to to push his past grievances with Lampard to one side...
Southampton didn't lose to the eventual champions once last season.
While the 2-1 away win at the CBS Arena will live long in the memory, as Flynn Downes tapped home a rare goal to help Eckert and Co. to a slim victory at the league leaders, the home clash was also memorable, for how fiery it got post-match.
An on-field melee would occur after the 1-1 draw off the back of Lampard passionately coming onto the pitch and making gestures at the home crowd. Clearly, the 47-year-old was enraged and saw red, as his team had to play with ten men for all of the second 45 minutes.
Some fiery scenes at full-time as some of the Southampton players weren't pleased with Frank Lampard's celebrations 😳 pic.twitter.com/qvRaVFH0Ra
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 20, 2025
This would lead to a confrontation occurring between Harwood-Bellis and Lampard on the St. Mary's turf, with the Stockport-born colossus stating that his opposite number was "better than that."
In retaliation, Lampard fired back that the one-time Manchester City youngster should "show some respect", as both clubs were fined significant amounts of money for this heated brawl.
Crazily, Lampard could be barking orders at Harwood-Bellis next season if the Coventry transfer links are true, with the number six no doubt ready to let bygones be bygones, so he can clinch a Premier League move.
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