Lyle Taylor’s time at Charlton is over. He drew a line under his two-year stay with the Addicks earlier this week when refusing to play when Championship football restarts on June 20. As a striker with goals, there is always going to be a degree of interest in him.
That interest has come from Scottish side Rangers and Turkish giants Galatasaray. It is likely that other suitors will join the queue for the Monserratean striker as and when the next transfer window opens.
Until then, it’s a case of looking at the latest interest from Galatasaray and posing one very straightforward premise: what three things would make Lyle Taylor a hit in Turkey?
Three things that would make Taylor a hit in Turkey
1. Goal threat: One thing that Lyle Taylor has in him is a goal threat. If you look back through the seasons, that threat is there staring right back at you.
- 2019/20 – 11 goals/1 assist in 22 games
- 2018/19 – 21 goals/11 assists in 41 games
- 2017/18 – 14 goals/7 assists in 46 games
- 2016/17 – 10 goals/4 assists in 43 games
- 2015/16 – 20 goals/7 assists in 43 games
Obviously he’d be taking a big step up from the Sky Bet Championship to the Turkish Super Lig but that goal threat, like a heavyweight boxer’s punch, is always there.
2. His work-rate and shooting: Taylor works hard to get himself into the right position to get shots off. Per his Whoscored player page, there is a lot that can be learned about his game. On a per 90 min basis (which looks at player output across a typical game time), he is definitely a busy player. He works himself into position to be able to take 2.6 shots per 90. 2.5 (61.5%) of these come from inside the penalty and 0.7 (27%) come from outside the area.
With just over 11% of his shots coming from in the six-yard area, Lyle Taylor isn’t your prototypical ‘fox-in-the-box’ striker. 46.8% of his shots are on target and, from these, he has a goal conversion rate of 50%.
3. His style of play: Taylor gets in positions to finish off goals, simple as that. OK, he doesn’t get into the six-yard box in a clinical way but he is deadly and accurate from the penalty box. He’s a threat from free-kicks and indirect set-piece plays. Also, due to the threat in and around the area, teams are often drawn into fouling him.
This style of play, with better players around him, like he’d find at Galatasaray, would only improve with a move to Turkey for a go at top-tier football.
