Aston Villa's approach comes with Konsa set to complete a move to Arsenal worth more than £50m, leaving a gap at the heart of defence that Unai Emery is keen to address before the window shuts. Southampton, who want closer to £25m for their captain, have shown no urgency to sell and knocked back Villa's offer without much deliberation.
Harwood-Bellis has been on the south coast since 2023, initially on loan from Manchester City before making the move permanent, and has earned one England cap, coming in a 2024 Nations League fixture against the Republic of Ireland. He began his career in City's academy but never made a first-team appearance for the Premier League champions.
Southampton finished fourth in the Championship last season before the Spygate scandal brought their play-off campaign to a premature and controversial end, and they will be reluctant to lose a key figure from that squad on the cheap.
Villa's need for reinforcements has grown since their Europa League triumph in May, with the club already having sold Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, Morgan Rogers to Chelsea and Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.
Losing Konsa on top of that exodus makes fresh defensive additions a priority for Emery as he prepares his squad for another Champions League campaign.
Villa are not thought to be the only club circling. Benfica had a bid of around £17m turned down by Southampton earlier in the window, underlining how the south coast club's stance has held firm even as multiple suitors test their resolve.
Fikayo Tomori and Tosin Adarabioyo are among the other names Villa have been linked with as they weigh up their options at centre-back.