Earlier in the week it was reported that West Bromwich Albion were interested in Liam Cooper, but now it seems that Charlie Taylor is the more likely target.
I was a bit surprised when the ever-reliable talkSPORT suggested that West Brom were in for Liam Cooper. He might have been our best central defender last season, but that’s not saying much when he was playing alongside Bamba and Bellusci. But while he looks competent at Championship level, I’m not convinced he’d be good enough for the Premiership.
So today’s story that the Hawthorns mob are actually chasing Charlie Taylor sounds a bit more credible. Perhaps the original story came from someone at the Albion getting confused when they spoke to the media. The latest comes from west Midlands local paper the ‘Express and Star’, which is not to be confused with either of the national rags with those words in the title.
The paper claims that Tony Pulis is keen to strengthen the defensive options in his squad, and that Albion’s scouts have been watching Taylor for some time. The 22-year-old has only one year left on his current contract, so Leeds might be forced to sell him rather than lose him for a pittance in 12 months time.
Garry Monk wants to keep all our promising younger players at Elland Road, but given the riches that will be available to Premier League clubs with the new TV deal, as long as we remain in the Championship it will be hard to stop them cherry-picking any of our players they like the look of. It will be difficult to get Taylor (and his agent) to extend his contract if he knows there are greater riches on offer from WBA.
If Taylor does depart for better things, the first part of the fee will have to be spent on a replacement left-back, given the lack of alternatives in that position.