Why Charlie Taylor Is A Great Signing For Burnley
Premier League outfit Burnley have completed the signing of left-back Charlie Taylor from Leeds United, though a compensation fee is still to be agreed.
The 23-year-old defender was officially out of contract from July 1 after turning down the chance to extend his stay at Elland Road by another two years and has instead agreed to a four-year deal in Lancashire with Sean Dyche’s side.
Taylor, much like he did a year ago, handed in a transfer request at Leeds at the end of the Championship season, after deciding not to take up the offer of a new contract. He made his feelings abundantly clear when he refused to play in the club’s final game of the season, much to the disgust of fans and then-manager Garry Monk who fined him two weeks’ pay.
He was a favourite to join West Bromwich Albion during this transfer window, especially as Baggies manager Tony Pulis made no secret of his admiration for the player, though it seems the two clubs could not agree on a compensation figure.
The same is still to be determined at Burnley, although the deal has already gone through and Taylor has been pictured in his new club’s colours.
Taylor made over 100 appearances for Leeds in all, having made his debut for them at just 18 years of age back near the start of the 2011/12 campaign. Loan stints at Bradford, Fleetwood, Inverness and York City, all helped his development.
It is right to call his attitude into question, though a lot of young footballers are badly advised and he was going to do whatever he was needed to do in order to push through a move to the Premier League.
Although he can play further forward, all 26 of Taylor’s starts in the Championship last season came at left-back and he has the ability to play that position in a very modern way. 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, 2.6 clearances and crucially, only 0.5 fouls per game are his defensive averages which read quite well, and are complemented by his attacking abilities as well.
Taylor made 0.7 key passes per game last season in league football, culminating in 3 assists over the course of the season. While he will need to be even better in the final third if he’s to make it in the Premier League, that’s a decent platform to begin on.
The point about this transfer is that Taylor is better than the left-back options Burnley already had, at least from what we know of him so far. So it’s all about chipping away and progressing where you can at the bottom end of the Premier League.
Stats courtesy: whoscored.com
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