Why Charlie Taylor Is A Great Addition To Burnley
Burnley completed their first transfer of the summer, when they signed left-back Charlie Taylor from Leeds United, on a free transfer, subject to a compensation fee (BBC Sport).
The 23-year old ran out of his contract with the Championship club and despite offers from Leeds for an extension, Taylor had his eyes set on a move to the top-flight. Sean Dyche’s side have managed to beat the Baggies to his signature.
Taylor has been regarded as one of the brightest talents to have come through the Leeds academy in recent years. Despite having made his debut back in 2011 only, as a 17-year old, he had to wait till 2014 to become a regular in the Leeds first-team, following several loan spells away at Bradford City, York City, Inverness and Fleetwood Town.
He made an instant impression in his first full-season and was nominated for the Young Player of the Year award, which he lost to Lewis Cook – currently of Bournemouth. The subsequent season, he took his game to a whole new level and his performances were so impressive that Taylor was named the club’s Fans’ Player of the Year for 2015-16.
Despite questions surrounding his future at the start of the 2016/17 campaign, Taylor turned out to be an impressive performer for the initial parts of the season, helping Leeds to stay in touch with the playoff positions in the Championship. But an injury around the new year meant he was ruled out for a few months and after returning to fitness, he couldn’t replace Gaetano Berardi as the first-choice. In the end, he finished the season with 32 appearances in all competitions, notching up 4 assists in the process.
The 23-year old has been highly thought of around his former club, due to his abilities to strike the right balance between his defensive responsibilities and his attacking intent. He has the pace and the energy to consistently threaten oppositions with his forward forays and also backs it up with good end product as well, which makes him a great attacking outlet down the left flank. And to go with his attacking vigour, Taylor also has the defensive play that allows him to stay solid at the back.
Burnley were in need of a player of his qualities and nature in that position. Apart from veteran Stephen Ward, Sean Dyche doesn’t really have other options for the left-back position. Last season, they did have Jon Flanagan on loan from Liverpool, but with him returning to Anfield, they are short of options. While Robbie Brady can play in that position, Dyche has preferred to use him in an advanced role on the flanks, and it is likely to stay the same in the coming season too.
So signing a left-sided full-back was a key priority for the Clarets and by bringing in Taylor, they have captured one of the best players in the Championship in that position. The Englishman has displayed all the traits of growing into a fine left-back in the near future and the fact that the Clarets signed him for free makes the capture more impressive. If Taylor manages to hit the ground running at the Turf Moor in his first season, Burnley will have struck gold by signing him.