Leeds are monitoring the development of Manchester City defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis ahead of the summer transfer window, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

What is the latest transfer news involving Harwood-Bellis?

The teenager has been impressing on loan at Blackburn in recent months, with Brighton also keeping tabs on the youngster.

How much is Harwood-Bellis worth and when does his contract expire?

According to Transfermarkt, Harwood-Bellis is worth £2.7m, the highest value of his career so far.

Having come through City's youth system, he still has over three years left on his contract at The Etihad.

What are Harwood-Bellis' stats this season?

Having joined Blackburn in January, Harwood-Bellis has already made a positive impression and has started the side's last six games.

He has been particularly impressive in the air. As per WhoScored, he has won 3.6 aerial duels per game in the Championship. For context, Liam Cooper is the only Leeds player to win more than this per match for Marcelo Bielsa's side.

The 19-year-old has also played at right-back on four occasions this term, demonstrating his ability to play various roles across the backline.

What has Tony Mowbray said about Harwood-Bellis?

Harwood-Bellis has progressed in the opening months of 2021 under the watchful eye of Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray.

Speaking about Harwood-Bellis earlier this month to the Lancashire Telegraph, Mowbray admitted he had been pleased with the youngster's impact, and backed the defender to get even better when he steps up in class.

Mowbray said: "What I see is a lad who needs some buttons pushing because when you challenge him he generally stands up to the challenge.

“You can feel the fire in his belly and the bigger the name that plays in front of him the higher he’s going to rise in his career. The big games are what are going to get his juices flowing and I like his character, he’s one I would call an old school central defender who wants to go to war, but he can play football if that’s the game in front of him.”

Is Harwood-Bellis the man to solve Leeds' set-pieces problem?

It is no secret that Leeds have struggled from dead-ball situations this season. Indeed, the side have conceded 15 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League - no other team has conceded more.

As stated by WhoScored, Cooper has won 4 aerial duels per game in 2020/21, but the next highest is Robin Koch with 2.6.

Bielsa's men will surely need a more commanding presence to deal with balls coming into the box if they want to push on again next year. This is where Harwood-Bellis comes into the equation.

He has proven dominant off the ground since joining Blackburn and does appear to boast the kind of attributes to help solve a key problem for the Yorkshire giants. 

By adding Harwood-Bellis to their squad, Leeds could go at least some way to solving their current issue with defending corners and free-kicks.