'Has to be now': Caleb Taylor future view amid West Brom defensive competition

Express & Star

Lewis Cox and Jonny Drury discuss Caleb Taylor on the latest episode of the Baggies Broadcast.

Transcript

00:00I'm going to talk to Caleb Taylor.

00:01I know you sat down with him in Austria and spoke to him,

00:03you know, need to turn him to break into the first-team fold at Albion.

00:06You know, he's saying that there's someone where Albion

00:08have brought in George Campbell, who we'll talk about next,

00:11and brought in Matt Phillips, who's got Heggen there.

00:13You know, Bartley's on the periphery.

00:15Whether he stays or goes remains to be seen.

00:17You know, do you get the sense that if Caleb Taylor maybe doesn't get,

00:22doesn't make his Albion break through this season,

00:25he will, you know, have to go and thrive somewhere else.

00:30He seems like someone who's desperate to continue playing first-team football.

00:33You know, and he might have a bit of a job on his hands to do that this season.

00:37It's a tricky one, isn't it, Caleb? I think.

00:41Yeah, it was great to speak to him.

00:43I mean, he's a cracking young lad, actually,

00:46and he's really sort of matured.

00:48And the way he speaks, develops, I suppose,

00:50those loans would definitely have helped.

00:51But he's desperate, desperate to make it at Albion,

00:57to make the grade at Albion.

00:58Obviously, he's desperate to make it full stop anywhere.

01:00And if it can't be at Albion,

01:01then he's desperate to make that happen anywhere.

01:05And he's good enough to, I think he is.

01:07But it's, you know, I did a piece yesterday, didn't I,

01:10talking about his good mate, Tom Fellows.

01:12Obviously, come all the way through together through the U Franks.

01:14They're still pretty inseparable, really good close mates

01:17from a similar-ish neck of the woods.

01:20I just, it's just got a lot of, and this fascinates me

01:26because I kind of put it to him when I spoke to him in Austria,

01:28but there's just a lot of competition, isn't there?

01:30There's a lot of competition.

01:31And that was, I put that to him before Albion signed George Campbell as well.

01:36You know, another sort of central option at the back.

01:41I think, look, Albion are in a place now,

01:43and they absolutely should be, by the way.

01:45I'm sure they are, where if someone had a knock or was suspended

01:49and it was a choice between Caleb Taylor starts this game

01:52or maybe Bartley, then I think, you know, they need to.

01:55And by the way, you know, Kyle Bartley is a good championship defender,

01:59isn't he?

02:00You know, there's not a...

02:01So I'll say that, but Caleb Taylor has to play, doesn't he?

02:05There has to be a time where he has to have that start,

02:09that chance to make the breakthrough.

02:11I made a point yesterday that how it favours attackers,

02:15you know, it's so much easier for attacking subs to be made, isn't it?

02:19And an attacker to come on and change the game by doing a dribble

02:21than the other way than that happening to the centre half.

02:24You don't see it as much.

02:25It's not as common.

02:27So it is tough for a centre defender to get through.

02:29Someone, I can't quite remember who it is now on my socials yesterday,

02:34made the point that Caleb Taylor really should have been given a crack in January.

02:37That, six months ago or so, when he was caught back from Wickham.

02:42So he played down at Bournemouth in the cup and scored in that defeat.

02:46And he should have been given a run then.

02:47And it's hard to disagree, really.

02:50You know, I've been, you know, decision-makers at the time.

02:52Head coach will have their thoughts and reasons on that.

02:54And it was the right thing to do to send him back

02:55if he was just going to sit on the bench at the Hawthorne's.

02:58But that was a chance to get him in, wasn't it?

03:00That was a possible sort of opening sliding doors moment.

03:05So now where does the chance come?

03:06Because I'm pretty sure Nat Phillips is going to play.

03:08I'm pretty sure Torgan Heggen's going to play.

03:11George Campbell, can he play if those two are playing?

03:14Not sure.

03:15Does he come above the pecking order of Caleb Taylor

03:18because he's a recruit that costs money?

03:22So it's tough.

03:23It's tough, Johnny.

03:23I don't, I find it hard to see all the benefits of another loan.

03:29I don't know if you agree with that.

03:31He's had three full seasons now, two and a half, really.

03:37And I just think he's got as far as he can get with them.

03:40They've been at the top of League One each time,

03:42or certainly the last two of them, sorry.

03:45And I'm sure if he was given a run,

03:47he would be ready to take his chance in the Championship.

03:50Now, the caveat is we don't know quite where Caleb Taylor fits

03:56in the calibre of Championship Centre arts

03:58because we've never seen it.

03:59We hear he's got the potential.

04:00We know he's very good in League One,

04:02obviously a massive step up.

04:04But, you know,

04:05Albion have always had sort of hope, confidence,

04:07faith in him breaking through.

04:09But they need to be given that chance, don't they?

04:12And, yeah, it's tough.

04:14Tough to see.

04:16Tom Fellow's been mentioned, hasn't he,

04:18about rumours of a sale

04:20because he's an academy graduate?

04:23And sadly, the PSR rules,

04:25academy graduates are the most profitable sales,

04:28along with players that have been free transfers

04:30because, you know,

04:31you're not paying for them any longer.

04:33They didn't cost you anything.

04:34So any money received,

04:36money is received for them is pure profit on book value.

04:39But that doesn't just leave Tom Fellows.

04:40You know, that leaves Caleb Taylor.

04:41That leaves Geoff Griffiths.

04:43There are other young players that have come through

04:45who have been mooted of little bits of interest.

04:47You know, past, historically and now.

04:50So, you know,

04:51this isn't just a Tom Fellows conversation.

04:53As you've suggested in the question, Johnny,

04:54it's a Caleb Taylor conversation.

04:56Maybe it's a Josh Griffiths conversation

04:58who's had interest as well.

05:00These are also assets.

05:01And with Caleb,

05:03I'd really like to see it.

05:05But, you know,

05:06I don't know.

05:06Anyone listening to this,

05:08you know, Blackburn at home,

05:09August the 9th.

05:10And, you know,

05:11I'd say this with no disrespect to Caleb Taylor,

05:12who I'm a big fan of

05:13and I hope to see make it.

05:15You know,

05:15who's starting,

05:16you know,

05:16this squad now as it is,

05:18who's starting him on the opening day,

05:20really.

05:21And maybe that's a point.

05:23However,

05:23that doesn't mean he can't be a squad option,

05:25Johnny,

05:25on the bench

05:26because there will be injuries,

05:27there will be suspensions.

05:28He just needs to be

05:29that replacement

05:30and given that chance,

05:31doesn't he?

05:32Because he could come in for an injury

05:33or a suspension

05:34and he could thrive

05:35and that could be it

05:36like Tom Fellows did.

05:37So he just needs that opening.

Category

Transcript

Recommended