Taylor Harwood-Bellis must regret leaving Southampton even more after this bombshell

Taylor Harwood-Bellis would leave Southampton behind during the final days of the frantic summer transfer window.

Aston Villa would snap up the Championship colossus for £30m, with Villa needing more defensive reinforcements, having lost Ezri Konsa to Arsenal.

This was a big blow in the heat of the moment when Harwood-Bellis' move away was confirmed, as his seven Championship goals last season, and his continued calmness at the back, made him stick out as one of the division's best centre-backs.

Thankfully, Southampton had the ingenious move for Keven Schlotterbeck up their sleeve to immediately bounce back, with the £3m recruit coming in and instantly shining in the hole that the ex-Manchester City defender left behind.

While the Saints have ended up taking the loss of Harwood-Bellis in their stride, the 24-year-old has seriously struggled to settle in at Villa Park, with plenty of setbacks hitting him in the face, mere weeks into his career in the Midlands.

Harwood-Bellis has not fit in at Villa

Indeed, the brand-new Villa number four is yet to feature in a single matchday squad under Unai Emery since joining.

He has gone from being a guaranteed first teamer at St. Mary's, to a £30m purchase that has quickly been shoved to one side in his new Premier League environment.

Harwood-Bellis hasn't even been registered to participate in the Champions League this season, which would have been a major draw of a move into the elite division.

Despite all this working against him, Emery has come out to state that the Stockport-born titan's time to shine in the first team ranks will come, with Pau Torres' injury perhaps opening the door for his first minutes in claret and blue.

Still, Harwood-Bellis will believe it when he's actually handed those opportunities, over clinging onto empty promises, with another bombshell perhaps troubling his early Villa playing days even more.

Another bombshell has dropped

A shock transfer development has broken at Villa Park regarding a new centre-back body entering the building.

Amazingly, it is being reported that the early Premier League strugglers are looking at bringing in ex-Real Madrid powerhouse Sergio Ramos on a free transfer deal, with a medical even expected to take place shortly for the 40-year-old to relocate to English shores.

While his age will be a worry, Ramos is a household name that automatically demands respect, with a crazy 671 appearances under his belt for Los Blancos.

On top of that, he would lift five La Ligas and four Champions League during his decorated spell with the esteemed club. He's also a World Cup winner with Spain, just to add even more gold dust to his staggering career.

If it were a toss-up between utilising Ramos, or Harwood-Bellis - who has just 34 Premier League appearances next to his name - Emery would likely opt for the 180-time Spain international.

At the moment, it feels as if Villa dropped £30m on Harwood-Bellis without really considering his space in the team long-term.

He would only slide down the pecking order more if Ramos were to arrive, who was viewed as a world-class performer for the one of the world's biggest clubs for several years.

In 2014, he was even labelled the "best in the world" in his position by Carlo Ancelotti.

Southampton fans won't be too bitter, though, watching his early demise at his new employers, as they will hope his first-team minutes do come about soon.

Indeed, he deserved another shot at Premier League glory, after giving his all last season in their promotion push.

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