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Bristol City’s promotion hopes would be bolstered by signing this 25-goal hitman from rivals

Why Lyle Taylor could be a promotion-winning signing for Bristol City

According to claims from TEAMtalk, as relayed by Nottinghamshire Live, Bristol City are among a host of clubs credited with an interest in Charlton Athletic hitman Lyle Taylor ahead of the January transfer window. 

The 29-year-old has also emerged as a target for Championship rivals Brentford and Nottingham Forest while Premier League trio Burnley, Sheffield United and Norwich City are all hot on the trails of the Greenwich-born star (TEAMtalk h/t Nottinghamshire Live).

Taylor, who bagged a staggering 25 goals in 45 appearances last season to fire the Addicks to a promotion-winning campaign in the League One, made a bright start to life in the Championship with a flurry of goals in August. 

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Lyle Taylor fired Charlton Athletic to a promotion-winning campaign in League One last season with 25 goals (Getty Images)

The towering 6ft.2-inch striker netted five goals in six Championship outings in August, as Charlton took the Championship by storm following their promotion.

An ankle injury thwarted what looked like a dream start to Taylor’s career in the Championship. However, he recently returned to action as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough at the weekend following a three-month spell on the treatment table.

The Robins, who thrashed Huddersfield Town 5-2 on the final day of November, strengthened their promotion credentials with a 2-1 victory over playoff rivals Fulham away from home on Saturday, thanks to goals from Josh Brownhill and Famara Diedhiou. 

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Taylor grabbed 5 goals in 6 games for Charlton in the Championship back in August before suffering an injury (Getty Images)

With 9 wins and 8 draws in 20 games so far, Bristol City have been sailing smoothly in their pursuit of a top-six finish in the Championship.

The lack of depth in the striking cavalry continues to be a major cause of concern for manager Lee Johnson moving forward. 

Andreas Weimann (7 goals, 3 assists) and Diedhiou (5 goals) have been the preferred combination up top for the manager. With Stoke City loanee Benik Afobe currently sidelined with a long-term cruciate ligament injury, the Robins might find themselves short of quality cover in the event of an injury to either of their first-choice strikers.

Antoine Semenyo isn’t a proven performer at this level and Bristol City can’t afford to rely on him much during the latter stages of the season when the race for promotion goes down to the wire. 

The Robins have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of Eddie Nketiah, with Arsenal confirming that they will not recall the highly-rated academy graduate on his ongoing loan spell at Leeds United, despite his lack of regular minutes in the Championship (Sun h/t Bristol Live).

To put things into perspective, Bristol City are currently riding a thin line as far as their striking options are concerned. Thus, it is an absolute no-brainer that the acquisition of Lyle Taylor would add some much-needed depth to the Robins’ existing strike force. 

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Lyle Taylor has been linked with a host of Premier League and Championship clubs ahead of the January window (Getty Images)

The 29-year-old had previously only plied his trade with various clubs in the lower echelons of the Football League system, as well as in the non-league arena. His fantastic start to life in the Championship with Charlton Athletic suggests that he is more than capable of racking up the goals in the second-tier. 

Plus, Bristol City might as well look at him as someone who could possibly play a part for them in the top-flight should they manage to secure promotion.

As evident from a scoring record of 33 goals in 20 games, the Robins haven’t been short of goals this season but Lyle Taylor could be the one to add another dimension to the attack with his physicality.

Diedhiou, of course, excels at that but Taylor’s arrival would certainly increase competition for places up top at Ashton Gate.

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Verdict

All in all, Bristol City beating off competition from their rivals in the race to sign Lyle Taylor in January would bring them a step closer to Premier League promotion.