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Southampton could soon have a decision to make on Taylor Harwood-Bellis, with Benfica now targeting the England international. The Portuguese club have just sold António Silva to Bournemouth for €30m (£26m). Now they need a replacement and appear to be looking particularly closely at the English market. Chelsea defenders Tosin Adarabioyo and Axel Disasi have already been linked with Benfica. Harwood-Bellis has now joined that list. That’s because Sacha Tavolieri reports Benfica have made contact with Southampton to advance discussions over the 24-year-old. More importantly for the Saints, the Lisbon club are prepared to spend €20m (£17.3m) on him. Benfica have Bournemouth money to spend Taylor Harwood-Bellis would arrive in Lisbon to strengthen a defence which has just lost one of its key players. António Silva’s €30m (£26m) switch to Bournemouth has created both the need and the financial room for Benfica to make a significant investment at centre-back. Tavolieri doesn’t directly connect the two transfers. The timing, however, makes Harwood-Bellis an obvious candidate to fill the gap left by Silva. Benfica would effectively be putting two-thirds of the Bournemouth money towards the Southampton defender if they eventually pay the reported €20m (£17.3m). The first step has already been taken. Tavolieri says contact with Southampton has been established as Benfica try to move talks forward. Southampton now have something to consider Taylor Harwood-Bellis is therefore attracting attention from a club with money available and an obvious vacancy in his position. That makes this more concrete than Benfica simply adding another centre-back to a long list of possible targets. The Portuguese side know what they need after Silva’s departure. According to Tavolieri, they also have a figure in mind for the Southampton man. Whether €20m (£17.3m) is enough to tempt the Saints is another matter. Harwood-Bellis is an England international and Southampton will be well aware of the value that brings. Benfica, meanwhile, have just shown they can receive €30m (£26m) for a central defender. For now, there is no suggestion Southampton have accepted that valuation or that a formal bid has arrived. Contact has started, though, and Benfica appear ready to put serious money into finding Silva’s successor.