Taylor vs Berardi: Defining moments during Leeds careers and season stats highlight why departing defender won’t be missed

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Charlie Taylor’s and Gaetano Berardi’s respective statistics from the season suggest that Leeds United can cope without the former.

Fleetwood Town’s David Ball and Leeds United’s Charlie Taylor in action

When Leeds fans look back on Charlie Taylor’s and Gaetano Berardi’s respective Whites careers in the future, there may be an acceptance that the former was the more talented player.

However, despite Taylor probably being the more gifted full-back, it is Berardi that will be remembered as a cult-hero while Taylor’s name is likely to be met with plenty of anger.

The academy graduate’s departure this summer seemed inevitable with his contract set to expire (via Guardian), and had he made himself available for selection for the final game of the season against Wigan on Sunday, then his exit would have probably been reluctantly accepted by the Elland Road faithful as it is clear that he is destined to play in the Premier League.

However, Garry Monk’s revelation to BBC Radio Leeds that the 23-year-old actually refused to play has surely damaged his relationship with the Whites fans beyond repair, especially when you consider that his positional rival was deemed to be something of a hero after he was willing to take a place on the bench while carrying a knock ahead of a league clash against Charlton in 2015.

Leeds United’s Gaetano Berardi in action with Brentford’s Sergi Canos

Then Leeds boss Neil Redfearn lost six first-team players in bizarre circumstances shortly before the trip to The Valley (via Yorkshire Evening Post), prompting an injured Berardi to sit on the bench, arguably putting his teammates to shame.

That incident now also puts Taylor to shame.

And while Taylor may grab the attention from the top flight (via Guardian), it is actually Berardi who has enjoyed the more impressive campaign according to some of the statistics.

Taylor excels going forward, with three times as many assists and around three times as many accurate crosses. But defensively, it is Berardi who has shone, especially when you consider that he has made three fewer league appearances.

Berardi has lost possession on considerably fewer occasions, made more blocks, won more tackles, made a significantly greater number of clearances, won more duels and won more interceptions.

So while the marauding runs down the line may be missed, it is unlikely that many Leeds fans will mourn Taylor’s imminent departure, and may instead hope that Garry Monk uses the opportunity to give the Whites’ cult-hero the much more prominent first-team role that he surely deserves.