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Unai Emery has questions to answer as surprise Taylor Harwood-Bellis call already made at Aston Villa
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- Unai Emery has questions to answer as surprise Taylor Harwood-Bellis call already made at Aston Villa
Taylor Harwood-Bellis is already in the headlines just days after joining Aston Villa .
The one-cap England international completed a deadline day switch to B6 from Southampton.
He cost the Villans a fee in the region of £30million and has been mooted as Unai Emery's choice to replace Ezri Konsa .
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Having the Spaniard in his corner is a big deal and proves that he has backing at Villa Park.
There is an expectation that the 24-year-old will become the partner to Pau Torres as the season goes on.
That is why the latest decision surrounding Harwood-Bellis makes little sense as the Champions League league phase looms.
Who is in Aston Villa's Champions League squad?
Without the quality and experience of Konsa, it was always going to be hard to find a true alternative.
Emery has gone with more of a project in the shape of the Southampton man.
It doesn't seem that the centre-back is totally trusted in the Midlands after being left out of the Champions League squad.
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The 23-man outfit has been named on the UEFA website with Victor Lindelof , Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres named as the only centre-backs.
That has left many surprised and is difficult to explain.
There is a suggestion that Villa may have missed the registration deadline after his last-gasp move, although Ibrahim Mbaye 's inclusion may go against that point.
It leaves Emery with a question to answer and it may be off the back of awkward conversations at Bodymoor Heath.
Aston Villa Champions League squad: Zion Suzuki , Marco Bizot , James Wright, Matty Cash , Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings, Matteo Ruggeri , Pau Torres, Ian Maatsen , Lamare Bogarde , Aaron Wan-Bissaka , Ross Barkley , John McGinn , Boubacar Kamara , Leon Goretzka , Joao Gomes Johan Manzambi, Emi Buendia , Nicolas Jackson , Alejandro Garnacho , Tammy Abraham , Ibrahim Mbaye, Alysson
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Aston Villa's best XI as deadline day passes: Ibrahim Mbaye and Manzambi in, four new signings out Does Taylor Harwood-Bellis deserve to be in the Champions League squad?
It's hard to truly know what level the defender is at until he gets the chance to feature regularly under Emery.
He is coming off a year in the Championship, but did put in some great performances with the Saints.
His seven goals and two assists is certainly a great tally and something that will be a boost to Villa's prospects if it can be replicated.
Harwood-Bellis' defensive stats in the same year weren't anything to sniff at either, as he put up 404 defensive actions and won 239 duels.
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Having also completed 2,498 passes with an 85.7 per cent accuracy, he appears suited to Emery's methods.
That makes it all the more surprising that the centre-back hasn't been included in the Champions League squad and leaves questions that need to be answered.
