One of Aston Villa new signings was given a new role on the weekend clash in Old Trafford.

In the weekend match between Aston Villa and Manchester United, one of The Lions’ signings finally made his Premier League debut this season. Taylor Harwood-Bellis had been waiting for a while to get a nod in the starting lineup after moving to the West Midlands side. Previously, he was fielded as a starter in the Carabao Cup match versus Bournemouth.

In the match against United, the former Southampton man was selected in the starting XI but not in his normal position, centre back. He was tasked to play wide in the right flank as right back to cover the absence of Matty Cash who has to serve his suspension.

How did he perform?

Overall, Harwood-Bellis form has been satisfactory. In the tight game against United, he was not subbed off and played for 90 minutes.

During the game, the defender made 60 touches, one key passes, and won aerial duel once. He did dribble the ball once, made 42 passes with the passing accuracy reaching up to 90.5 %. He also delivered long ball five times with three of them being accurate, whereas his defensive contribution was superb as expected. The 24-year-old centre back made one tackle, seven clearances and committed two fouls.

Judging from his fine form, it seems that Unai Emery has been able to utilize Harwood-Bellis as a full back, considering the unconvincing form of Cash’s current understudy, Lamare Bogarde. Meanwhile, Cash’s deputy, Aaron Wan Bissaka is still currently unavailable due to his injury.

His future position?

Harwood-Bellis’ positive display as a right back could be a notable reference that he could be reliable cover on the right flank for the team. Joao Gomes, who has been given the same role before, is likely to be his rival whenever Cash and Wan Bissaka are not available again. However, playing in that position is not exactly new for the product of Manchester City academy.

Prior to the last outing, the ex-Burnley and Anderlecht man has played as a right back nine times in various clubs. The first time he was deployed in that position was in EFL League Cup 2020/21. Pep Guardiola played him for 24 minutes against Burnley. He featured for that position again in FA Cup versus Cheltenham.

The defender with one international cap was playing as right back during his loan spell in Ewood Park, Blackburn in the same season. He was tasked for that position in the matches versus QPR and Barnsley in the Championship.

In the following season, Harwood-Bellis only featured as a right back once with Stoke City. He was not deployed for that role again until the 2023/24 season with Southampton. That was when he was playing as full back the most in his career, four times, one in FA Cup and the remaining was in the Championship. He even provided one assist when The Saints beat Birmingham City 4-3 in March 2024.