According to Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who wants to continue making his sports-loving family proud, his dad was once Stockport’s mascot, “Vernon Bear,” and he receives guidance from Roy Keane, his less-than-cute future father-in-law.
The 22-year-old was selected for the first time by Lee Carsley in a senior England squad after leading his under-21 team to European Championship success in 2023.
Despite an otherwise dismal start to the season, Harwood-Bellis has shown promise for promoted Southampton, and his selection has been facilitated by injuries to John Stones and Harry Maguire.
The final camp under Carsley, whose call ahead of last Thursday’s team selection will live long in the memories, will face the Republic of Ireland and Greece in the Nations League.
Centre-back Harwood-Bellis remarked, “At first, I couldn’t quite believe it.
It was a sense of accomplishment. My partner and I were together. My dad was really proud when I called him after that.
The fact that I was in the seniors after playing for England in the age groups.” My entire family was thrilled.
Harwood-Bellis has strong athletic roots in his family and is one of the few individuals who have won a trophy while captaining England.
The defender’s sister, Becky, played basketball for Great Britain at the youth level, and his uncle, Steve, is the president of Stockport, his hometown club, where his father, Martin, was once the “Vernon Bear” mascot.
To be fair, he did it for fun,” the Manchester City youngster remarked, laughing.
It wasn’t an isolated incident. The bear was him. To be truthful, it was sad to see him quit doing that.
The future father-in-law of Harwood-Bellis contributes to the “sporty family,” but in a very different way than a cute mascot.
The defender recently became engaged to Leah, the daughter of former Manchester United captain Keane, and was hesitant to discuss someone whose viewpoints he obviously values.
“It’s something that is good, yeah, and I take a lot of advice,” Harwood-Bellis stated.
He responded, “No, everything is focused on Greece at the moment,” when asked if he had discussed the Ireland match on Sunday with him.
With the outcome at home, it’s a crucial game. We want to go over there and obtain a result, of course. There will be a packed house and a pleasant mood. We accept the challenge and look forward to it.
If England wants to maintain their hopes of earning automatic promotion back to the top division of the Nations League, they need to defeat Greece on Thursday.
Even though Harwood-Bellis might only be able to play on the bench in Athens, he will undoubtedly learn a lot from his first encounter with the senior team. Given his pride in being a leader, the self-assured captain of the under-21 team will not back down when called upon.
“When I was younger, it was a part of me,” Harwood-Bellis remarked. “I’ve held the position of captain for every age group at City and throughout England.
It’s something I enjoy. I enjoy helping my team and anyone who would want to look to me as their leader because I like being viewed as a leader.
With the seniors and Southampton, where there are many older and more seasoned players, I’m obviously in a different boat now. I’m learning and working on improving my skills. I’m simply picking up knowledge from everyone I can.
His late grandfather Dave would have been proud of him for this time spent in England, which would undoubtedly aid in his development.
His final words to the child in 2019, as a devoted supporter of Manchester City, were, “Do it for City, I’m proud of you.”
In order to gain the top-flight experience necessary to be called up for his first England call-up, Harwood-Bellis severed his links with City in the summer by relocating permanently to Southampton.
The teenage defender commented, “He was a huge football fan,” on what his grandfather would think of his position with England. He cherished it. He would be pleased with me now, and I must continue to make my family proud.
