Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece has been sharing his thoughts on Villa left-back Neil Taylor and his future at the Midlands club.
This comes after Preece made an appearance on a recent Q&A edition of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue podcast where he answered a variety of questions concerning Dean Smith’s side.
On the subject of Taylor and his future at Villa Park, Preece had this to say on the matter. (5.08)
He said: “In terms of Taylor, he’s still only 32 so he’s got a couple of years in his playing days left.
“He’s doing his coaching badges at Bodymoor Heath at the moment, remains a massive figure behind the scenes with the academy lads and he’s a sounding board for Smith and them, so I think he’ll go into coaching.
“I think Villa might offer him a coaching deal perhaps, but I think he’s got a couple years left in him. Stoke City [are] the latest club mentioned, I think that could suit him, he can go and play with his mate [James] Chester up at Stoke, so that could work for him.”
Villa signed Taylor back in the 2017 January transfer window from Swansea City for an undisclosed fee. Since then, the 32-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.62 million, has gone on to make 103 appearances for Villa across all competitions in which he has managed to provide five assists in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Ashley Preece’s comments on Taylor and his future…
Given how Taylor has only played 16 minutes of action in the Premier League, prior to Villa’s home clash against Everton, from one substitute appearance, this suggests that he is not a vital figure in Smith’s squad anymore.
Would you like to see Neil Taylor offered a coaching role at Villa?
Yes
No
In our view, if Taylor feels that he wants to call it a day on his playing days and fully focus on his coaching badges, then it would be nice to see Villa offer him a role in that capacity.
Or, if Taylor feels that he wants to continue playing on the pitch, then perhaps a move to a club where he would be guaranteed regular minutes would be ideal for the full-back during the upcoming summer transfer window.