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Taylor Harwood-Bellis started the opening game of Southampton's new Championship season against Watford, despite speculation continuing to dominate column inches that he could be off to Benfica. Tonda Eckert was hush about the potential of Harwood-Bellis leaving St. Mary's behind this summer in his post-match thoughts after the 2-1 defeat, with the Portuguese outfit surely having to cough up more than £17m to win their desired man. While the Saints did end up collapsing to a narrow loss at Vicarage Road, the towering number six didn't put in a horror show performance by any stretch of the imagination. Harwood-Bellis' opening day performance Of course, from Harwood-Bellis' perspective, he will still be annoyed he came away from the opening day without a victory in hand, even if he didn't drop a clanger. He could've closed down Amin Nabizada's fast-paced goal, which made it 2-0, but he's far from being the only defender you could criticise for that strike hitting the back of the net. Indeed, Jack Stephens was so sluggish in trying to shut down the 19-year-old's run, and the rusty captain deserves a lot more pelters, as his sliced clearance handed Watford their opening goal, too. On another day, as well, the Benfica-linked colossus would have been the Saints' equalising hero, as he latched onto a long hoof up the pitch by Ryan Manning in added on time right at the end of the game, only to hit a golden opportunity agonisingly wide. Hector Kyprianou saw the funny side of that miss for the hosts, as Harwood-Bellis couldn't believe that he'd squandered such a fantastic, late opening, having bagged seven second tier goals just last season. To say that Harwood-Bellis put in a poor display would be false, though, as he managed to win eight duels across the course of the bumpy 90 minutes for Eckert and Co. Remove him from that defence today and the holes would've been even more apparent. But, even if he does end up staying, a new defensive purchase should be near the top of the shopping list, as the centre-back partnership at Vicarage Road was evidently way past its sell-by date. Even if he stays, a new defender could be needed In 2026, it is quite remarkable that the aforementioned Stephens remains in Eckert's first team plans. While the big bucks have been splashed out on the likes of Lewis Dobbin up top, and Divin Mubama has arrived as a flashy loan signing in attack, the German is still falling back on the South Coast veteran in the heart of his backline. He was solid enough last season when collecting nine clean sheets from 32 clashes during the regular Championship campaign, but he was so far off the pace against the youthful Hornets. Only winning two duels all match, the worry will be that the loyal servant will continue to make errors and stick out like a sore thumb at the back. Stephens vs Harwood Bellis in the Championship: | Stat | Stephens | Harwood-Bellis | |---|---|---| | Games played | 56 | 84 | | Goals scored | 2 | 9 | | Clean sheets | 11 | 23 | With a four point deduction in play, Eckert's men can't afford for slip-ups to keep constantly occurring, with their rumoured pursuit of Anel Ahmedhodzic - who has shone at this demanding level before - perhaps being putting the idea into motion that the declining number five's starting minutes should be eased. The 33-year-old wouldn't turn his nose up at having Stephens as a back-up, however, with the controversial boss noting - in pre-season - that the old hand defender "knows the club inside out." He could be a great presence to have around the dressing room for that reason, but in terms of big games right now, he should be dropped, and a new centre-back signing should be prioritised, to line up next to a hopefully rooted Harwood-Bellis.