Taylor Harwood-Bellis could make his Aston Villa debut in Wednesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie against Coventry City, according to Birmingham Live. The 24-year-old centre-back arrived from Southampton this summer but has not yet been included in a matchday squad for any of the club's three fixtures against Hull City, Club Brugge or Nottingham Forest.
Harwood-Bellis was also left out of the Champions League squad for the league phase, despite expressing enthusiasm about the competition during his introductory interview. His omission from European registration surprised many observers given the depth required across multiple competitions this term.
An opportunity may now present itself following an injury to Pau Torres. Birmingham Live reports that the Spaniard is expected to be sidelined until after the upcoming international break, reducing Unai Emery's options at the back. Victor Lindelof has started all six of Villa's matches so far this season, making rotation a consideration for the midweek cup fixture.
Emery made seven changes for last year's equivalent round against Brentford, suggesting a similarly altered line-up could be fielded at Coventry. Speaking after the weekend defeat to Forest, the head coach addressed Harwood-Bellis's continued absence from the squad and hinted that game time is approaching.
"Because in Europe you can have 23 players and in the league not," Emery explained regarding the Champions League registration constraints. "Arteta wanted to open it for more players. We needed to take off someone, and it was Taylor. With the injury with Pau, his time is coming."
Aston Villa have not commented further on team selection for the Coventry match. Should Harwood-Bellis feature on Wednesday, it would mark his first competitive involvement since completing his move from Southampton.
