Unai Emery’s side are in desperate need of a new centre back following the departure of Ezri Konsa to Arsenal earlier in the summer.
If it wasn’t already obvious, duo Pau Torres and Victor Lindelof had a disastrous outing as Villa were beaten 4-0 by Brighton in their first Premier League game of the season on Sunday (August 23).
Southampton’s Harwood-Bellis has emerged as one of their top targets, but the Championship club are playing hard to get.
According to The Athletic, Villa have had a second and improved offer for the England international turned down by Southampton.
The first bid was worth £18million plus add-ons and was swiftly turned down by the Saints earlier this week.
Villa are also in talks over a move for Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez, and it's understood the signing of Harwood-Bellis would be alongside rather than instead of.