The departure of Dara O’Shea may have opened the door for Caleb Taylor to take a step forward in his career with West Brom this season.
Caleb Taylor spent last season on loan in League One, and is now aiming to establish himself in Carlos Corberan’s West Brom squad.
Following Dara O’Shea’s exit, there is certainly room for a new centre-back in Corberan’s squad, to add depth beyond the likes of Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley, and Cedric Kipre. Taylor has featured for the Baggies in pre-season and performed well against Forest Green Rovers. He demonstrated his aerial ability and impressive range of passing in that match.
Corberan will have been keeping a close eye on the 20-year-old in recent weeks. Albion will also have kept tabs on him throughout his loan stint with Cheltenham Town, where he made 40 appearances in all competitions last time out.
He looks ready to test himself in the second tier, and will be hoping to be handed that chance at the Hawthorns this time around.
Caleb Taylor makes his ambitions clear
On the prospect of featuring for West Brom this season, Taylor said, “there is nothing I can do except give my best to give the impression that I am there and ready, and that he can trust me…hopefully I can stay and play a big part of the season…I came in and we had a little talk at the end of last season, and then this pre-season I’ve been talking to him regularly,” as quoted by Express & Star.
The nature of those conversations with Corberan would be interesting to know. Given the way Taylor is discussing his prospects for this season, though, suggests that the manager has opened the door for the young defender to step into the first team squad.
Having come through the Albion academy, West Brom fans will be rooting for Taylor to make the grade at the club, and show his quality for the team this season.