Taylor Harwood-Bellis has made a big claim about Manchester City's training matches after declaring they are the toughest games he has faced.
The 18-year-old has been training with Pep Guardiola's first-team side this season, having featured in the EFL Cup, Champions League and FA Cup last season.
Despite those challenges in official matches, Harwood-Bellis has stated that his toughest encounters have come from games involving his own teammates.
“The speed is hard to get used to at first. When I first came up to the senior squad, I was two or three yards off the pace, which you can only expect," he told the club's official website.
“For the past few months, I have been training with the first team and that has progressed me as a player massively - more than anything I’ve done before. The matches you play in training are probably the hardest you’re going to get all season!
“The speed they play at is ridiculous as well as the things they can see and the passes they make, but that’s what I strive towards.
“That’s what I want to be doing in the next few years. I want the Academy players coming up to the first team to look at me and say, ‘he trains well every day and he trains at such speed every day’ and for them to know that it is possible for an Academy player to do that.”
Harwood-Bellis is yet to make his Premier League debut but expectations are high for the teenager, who is rated highly by Guardiola.
His rise has also seen him make his debut for England's U20 ranks in October, featuring against Wales at St. George's Park.
