Better than O’Shea & Thomas: Ipswich must rival Coventry to sign £20m star

Ipswich Town and Coventry City both know that they need to invest heavily in their squads when the summer transfer window opens for business later this month.

After earning automatic promotion to the Premier League from the Championship, one of the first priorities should be improving their respective defensive set-ups.

The Tractor Boys experienced top-flight attacks in the 2024/25 season under Kieran McKenna and conceded a whopping 82 goals in 38 games as they were relegated back down to the second tier at the first attempt.

They know that they need to add more quality at the back, as Dara O’Shea, Jacob Greaves, and Leif Davis were also regulars when their defence was not good enough in the Premier League last time out.

Coventry, meanwhile, also need to improve their backline because they conceded 45 goals in 46 games, despite dominantly winning the league, and will be under far more pressure next term as a promoted side.

Coventry City eyeing deal to sign England international

The Sky Blues, who won the Championship title ahead of the Tractor Boys, typically lined up with Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitchen as Frank Lampard’s preferred centre-back pairing.

Now, the newly-promoted club are reportedly looking at a defender who would be an upgrade on what they currently have at their disposal at the back.

According to talkSPORT, Coventry City are one of the teams interested in a deal to sign Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Sky Blues want to bring the one-cap England international to the club to bolster their options in defence, after Southampton were knocked out of the play-offs because of Spygate.

West Ham United, Everton, and Crystal Palace have recently been named as potential suitors for the right-footed centre-back, which means that there could be stiff competition for his services.

The Saints signed the defender from Manchester City for a fee of £20m and it has been claimed that they will not accept offers of less than that for him this summer.

Why Ipswich must rival Coventry to the signing of Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Ipswich have not been named as one of the teams interested in a deal for the English star, but they should make a move to rival Coventry to his signature in the coming weeks.

Both teams need to improve their defences to prepare for the upcoming Premier League season and Harwood-Bellis’ form in the Championship suggests that he would be an upgrade for both of them.

He typically plays on the right-sided of a centre-back pairing, as a right-footed player, and produced more impressive displays than Ipswich’s O’Shea and Coventry’s Thomas, who also play that role.

Harwood-Bellis made more clearances in the league than both O’Shea and Thomas, ranking eight overall in the division, and this is particularly noteworthy because of the team that he played in.

The 24-year-old star was the only player among the top four teams for the most average possession held to reach at least 300 clearances, showing that his impressive numbers were down to positioning and quality rather than the fact that he had to defend a lot in a poor team.

Harwood-Bellis also won more duels (244) than O’Shea (236) and Thomas (181) in the Championship, showing that he has the physicality to consistently get the better of opposition forwards as well as the positional discipline to make clearances on a regular basis.

The £20m-rated defender could also help Coventry or Ipswich from an offensive perspective, after he scored a staggering seven goals from centre-back in the Championship this season.

O’Shea and Thomas, meanwhile, combined for four goals between them and do not offer as much of an aerial threat in the opposition’s box, which means that Harwood-Bellis could win Ipswich or Coventry more points in the Premier League by getting forward to make a difference from set-pieces.

Overall, the Southampton defender appears to have the defensive and offensive skillset to improve both newly-promoted clubs heading into the top-flight campaign, which is why they should be battling it out for his signature in the coming weeks and months.