Taylor Harwood-Bellis' England journey helped by his Stockport mascot Dad and Roy Keane

It is fair to say the family of friends of Taylor Harwood-Bellis are steeped in footballing tradition.

His dad was once cuddly Vernon Bear, the furry Stockport County mascot, while the father of his fiancee Leah is the not-so-cuddly .

Respecting family privacy, Harwood-Bellis rarely speaks about his partner’s famous dad but it is clear the legend has become something of an influence on his career.

Asked about having the ear of such an important footballing figure, Harwood-Bellis said: “Yeah, it’s something that is good and I take a lot of advice.”

Beyond that, Harwood-Bellis is reluctant to discuss his relationship with Keane but it is clear his entire extended family are ecstatic at the 22-year-old’s call-up to the England senior squad.

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And it is fair to say they are football-mad - his dad Martin used to dress up as Vernon Bear for Stockport’s home games.

“He did it a few times to be fair,” laughed Harwood-Bellis. “It wasn’t just once. He must have been good at it. It was sad to see him stop.”

While Martin passed on the big bear outfit, Taylor’s uncle Steve is still Stockport’s club president. It is clearly a very sporty family, with sister Becky having represented Great Britain at basketball.

And, of course, the emergence of Harwood-Bellis further underlines Stockport and its surrounding areas as a hotbed of English footballing talent, having produced the likes of , and Cole Palmer.

Harwood-Bellis smiled: “There’s just something in the air in Stockport, I think. It’s a good town, good people and the club, Stockport County, is a big support. There’s football everywhere, down the road there’s City and United. It’s a footballing area and the grassroots is good.”

While his family have been heavily involved in Stockport, Harwood-Bellis played all his junior and youth football at and had been tipped for a big future under .

But he struggled to get a decent chance in the City first team and after a season on loan at St Mary’s, he made the move to permanent in a £20million switch.

“I’ve got to play football matches,” he explained. “That is big for me in my career. I went to Southampton and there was an obligation on promotion and we did that. So in the end, it wasn’t my choice!

“But I was buzzing that it happened, I am so happy to be at Southampton now.”

While the Saints are involved in a grim struggle, Harwood-Bellis has been relatively happy with his own form.

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And with Lee Carsley taking charge of his final camp as interim manager, it is clear the call-up is also a reward for the way Harwood-Bellis captained the under-21s to European Championship success.

Harwood-Bellis said: “I’ve been captain all the way through England age groups and through the age groups at City. It’s something that I like - I like being seen as a leader.

“I’m in a different boat now with the seniors and at Southampton where there are a lot more experienced and older players and I am just trying to learn from everywhere I can.”

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