Defender set to snub Burnley in favour of Premier League move
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Burnley are set to lose defender Charlie Taylor to Southampton on a free transfer, reporter David Anderson has said on X.
Burnley are heading back to the Championship after a dismal season in the Premier League.
There remains uncertainty over the direction of the club too. Vincent Kompany is yet to be replaced since his move to Bayern Munich and with divisional rivals beginning pre-season, the Clarets must be careful not to lose ground.
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The transfer window is bound to be an important one with departures inevitable after relegation. Now, it has been claimed that one man poised to move on is long-serving defender Charlie Taylor.
Writing on X, Mirror reporter David Anderson has said he is set to snub the offer of a new deal with Burnley in favour of a move to Southampton, where he will pen a two-year contract.
The Clarets confirmed in their retained list that Taylor had been offered a new deal. It seems he’s set to head for pastures new though, returning to the Premier League.
Long-serving Taylor moves on
Taylor has been with Burnley since the summer of 2017. It’s a blow for the club to lose a loyal servant who has become a leader in the dressing room
However, these are the realities of relegation, and he won’t be the last to depart. The 30-year-old would have been an asset regardless of the manager though, and it marks another area that the incoming boss will be tasked with bolstering.
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The former Leeds United youngster is set to move on from Turf Moor having played 220 times for the club across all competitions. Along the way, he’s notched one goal and 10 assists, with that single strike coming against Bournemouth in October last year.
Taylor has mainly played in his primary role at left-back, but he also operated as a central defender in the promotion-campaign under Kompany.
Uncertainty causing issues?
As Taylor opts against a new deal in favour of a Premier League return with Southampton, you have to wonder whether the continued uncertainty over the managerial position is having an impact on the players.
Had a permanent boss been in place, perhaps Burnley would have had a higher chance of persuading Taylor to commit to a new deal and remain at Turf Moor.
However, with no leader at the helm, he can head to a club where there is a far clearer direction. Southampton will be determined to affirm their place as a Premier League club again with Russell Martin at the helm.
Time will tell just who ends up coming in as the club’s new boss, but whoever it is, they won’t have Taylor to call upon as he heads south.