Leeds United could be set to face one of their own before the season is out with reports of Championship interest in Charlie Taylor.
Thirty-one-year-old Taylor retained his status as a Premier League footballer over the summer after switching relegated Burnley for newly-promoted Southampton, following the expiration of his contract at Turf Moor. But the left-back has struggled for game-time, firstly under Russell Martin and now even more so with Ivan Juric in charge.
Taylor’s seven league appearances have totalled just two starts and 266 minutes and since Juric’s December 21 arrival, the defender’s only showing came as a half-time substitute in a 5-0 defeat at home to Brentford. A move away from St Mary’s is expected before next week’s deadline and Sky Sports have tipped Watford and Hull City as possible destinations.
Taylor transfer links
They claim Hull have already agreed the terms of a six-month loan deal with Southampton, but Taylor himself is unsure of that particular move. And they now add that Tom Cleverley’s Watford have joined the race, making an initial approach to scope out the terms of a temporary switch.
Should Taylor opt to join Watford, then he will welcome boyhood club Leeds to Vicarage Road not long after signing. Daniel Farke’s side face the Hornets down south on February 11, which is less than two weeks away. That trip kicks off a potentially decisive four-game period in which the Whites then face Sunderland, Sheffield United and West Brom.
Taylor has come up against his former club a few times before – he was even linked with a return to Elland Road following relegation in 2023 – and is always met with a fiery reception by fans who have not forgotten his 2017 exit. The defender turned down offers of a new contract before then-manager Garry Monk accused him of refusing to play the season’s final game against Wigan Athletic.
Leeds exit regret
There has been a more recent acceptance that Taylor, only 23 at the time, was poorly advised by those around him, while then-owner Massimo Cellino’s new contract offer was thought to actually involve a pay cut, rather than a pay rise. It was a difficult moment for all involved and the player himself has since opened up on the regret of forcing a move in such fashion.
“As a youngster growing up, all I ever wanted to do was play for Leeds. That was my dream,” Taylor told the Sunday Mirror back in 2020. “I loved my time there, but the way it ended was the biggest regret of my career and, if I could go back and change it, I would. I don’t have any regrets about signing for Burnley because I think I was proved right in the way things have worked out for me.
“I made the decision with my head rather than my heart because I didn’t know whether I’d get the chance again to play in the Premier League. I still live over that way and I get plenty of stick when I’m out in town, but I am still a Leeds fan and I’d love to go back there next season to play them in the Premier League, I really would.”
The way I left Leeds United is my biggest regret – I could now end up harming their promotion push
