Caleb Taylor could carve out role in the West Brom first team next season
Caleb Taylor could have an opportunity to carve himself out a role in the West Brom first team next season if he can impress Carlos Corberan.
Taylor spent the second half of the 2023/24 campaign out on loan at League One outfit Bolton Wanderers.
And the 21-year-old will be hoping to play a part in Corberan’s promotion-chasing squad in 2024/25 rather than going out on a temporary move again.
Is Caleb Taylor good enough to play for West Brom?
Taylor’s 2023/24 campaign was, disappointingly, disrupted by injury.
After making six first-team appearances for the Baggies in the first half of the season – including starts in the 4-1 win over Aldershot Town in the FA Cup Third Round and the 2-1 League Cup defeat against Stoke City.
He then made a temporary switch to Bolton in pursuit of more regular minutes and looked as though he would get them, starting three of the club’s first five league games after his arrival – but an ankle ligament tear saw him miss over a month of action.
He earned another start in the 2-0 win over Port Vale before the culmination of the regular season and – although he did not feature as often as he would have liked overall, he could have a unique opportunity to stake his claim at the Hawthorns.
West Brom are set for a raft of first-team departures as several senior stars leave upon the expiry of their contracts – including Erik Pieters.
Should Corberan be sufficiently impressed with Taylor’s progress, he could choose to install him as one of four central defenders alongside Cedric Kipre, Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi.
A strong pre-season will be paramount to Taylor’s chances of earning a senior spot.
In other West Brom news, Carlton Palmer feels the Baggies would suffer a “massive blow” if they sell Darnell Furlong for £2million.
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