Is Steven Taylor off to Liverpool?
Posted on July 6th, 2010 | 77 Comments |
There was a bit of news, well perhaps not news, but there was some speculation over the weekend regarding the future of Steven Taylor at NUFC.
We all know that Taylor has only 12 months remaining on his current contract and will be free to walk away from Newcastle at the end of the forthcoming season, and this has led to a whole heap of transfer gossip being centred around the central defender, including claims from some sources that he is ready to sign a new contract at St James’ Park.
However, over the weekend there was also some reports that Liverpool and their new manager, Roy Hodgson, were keen to take the 24-year old to Anfield in a move supposedly worth around £6 million. This speculation has now intensified to the point where The Daily Express now claim that Liverpool have actually lodged a bid with Newcastle United for the player.
I will just mention that there is nothing official in this and we all know just how unreliable newspaper reports can be, but it really wouldn’t surprise me if this was true to be honest as Taylor has remained tight-lipped for some time over his future at Newcastle, and I don’t think it was due to those metal plates he has allegedly had fitted to his jaw either!
So would it be wise to let him move on? My opinion is that perhaps now is the time for him to move on. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see him stay with him being a good defender and pretty much lifelong Geordie and all that, but if you think back to last season and the results the team had with him in it before his injury, and the results we had when he was out with his injury you have to ask; did we really miss him?
I would say not, and £6 million, as long as it is invested back into the team, could be a sum that is hard to turn down for a player with only a short length of time left on his contract.
One thing that has disappointed me about Taylor throughout all this speculation has been the silence coming from him. Granted the players have been away on holiday and such, but there has been no sound at all from Taylor, not one bit saying he is committed to Newcastle, which is fair enough as it’s his career and he doesn’t have to be committed to us, but it’s still nice to hear it.
Compare that to Andy Carroll though, who has also been hotly tipped to move away from Tyneside. We have heard nothing except from how committed he is to Newcastle, how he is happy here and how he wouldn’t want to play for anyone else. As a fan, that is what I want to hear from the players I support. I want to know they care just as much as I do, and I don’t get that feeling from Taylor at the minute, not like I used to anyway.
Perhaps it is just one of those things and Taylor feels he needs to move on? Perhaps the club feel they need to move on and draw a line underneath it? Maybe he willl sign a new contract, who knows? But something certainly isn’t right about the whole situation, and it is only a matter of time before we find out which direction Taylor and the club are going.
Will they be drifting apart? Or will they be drawn closer together?
early one today eh toonsy? :D
My sixpence worth, I felt more assured when Williamson played last season in the few games he played than I had ever felt with Taylor, just always think there is a mistake in him.
Though I do think he has the attributes to become a fantastic right back.
6mil for a skint club, providing we can replace him with someone as cheap and of the same quality of Williamson, may just prove to be a deal to good to turn down, and even, would be foolish to turn down.