Caleb Taylor details next steps for West Brom career after successful Cheltenham loan
West Brom loanee Caleb Taylor has vowed he will return to The Hawthorns next season to fight for his place in Carlos Corberan’s squad after his successful loan spell at Cheltenham.
The 20-year-old starlet joined the League One outfit on a season-long loan last summer in order to aid his development and get consistent opportunities and he has certainly flourished going on to feature in 43 League One outings, registering two goals and one assist.
And in an interview with journalist Jon Palmer who took to his Twitter account [28 April] to report his comments, he said he will be returning to the Baggies next season to claim a starting berth.
He said: “I am going to go back to West Brom in the summer and fight for my place there.”
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Throughout the campaign, West Brom have had to deal with a lack of options at centre-back given the ongoing injury troubles of the likes of Kyle Bartley and the current injury blow to Dara O’Shea.
Also, Corberan’s current options in Semi Ajayi and Erik Pieters have also both faced spells out of the side this season, which means the club will certainly be looking for more options in the centre of defence for next season giving Taylor the perfect opportunity to stake his claim.
The 20-year-old has undergone a superb campaign at Cheltenham with the League One outfit successfully battling against relegation, sitting nine points from the drop zone with two games to go, and Taylor has proven a vital part of their success, featuring in 43 of their 44 games so far.
Not only has he proven a reliable and durable presence at the back for Cheltenham but his underlying stats make for promising reading for Corberan, with the youngster averaging an impressive 1.5 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, a whopping 5.4 clearances and 0.7 blocks per game [WhoScored].
For a defender making his maiden steps at first-team level, those numbers are mightily impressive which suggests Taylor is well-stocked and prepared to take the next level for West Brom next season.
It remains to be seen whether the club will secure their promotion spot for next season, so Taylor could well be making a perfect step up to the Sky Bet Championship next season.
In other West Brom news, a first-team player could be out until June if his injury return goes to plan, according to an injury expert.