Neil Taylor is interested in moving abroad once his Aston Villa contract expires, with Sky Sports claiming that clubs in Turkey and the Middle East have emerged as potential destinations.
With the benefit of hindsight, Villa probably should have kept the chequebook in their pocket.
During the January 2017 transfer window, the Midland giants spent big on Scott Hogan, Birkir Bjarnasson, James Bree and Henri Lansbury.
But while each of the aforementioned quartet struggled to make their mark in claret and blue – and that’s putting it kindly in Hogan’s case – at least Taylor can bid farewell with his head held high.
The 32-year-old Wales international has made almost 100 appearances in Aston Villa colours. Taylor, Villa’s very own Mr Dependable, played a key role as one of England’s best supported clubs escaped their Championship purgatory in 2019 too.
Taylor’s fourth season in front of the Holte End expected to be his last, however.
The former Swansea City stopper, who has played just one league game in the last nine months, is out of contract in July.
Sky claim that Taylor has plenty of options on the table, with Trabzonspor offering the veteran left-back a fresh start in Turkey.
A number of as-yet unnamed Saudi Arabian and Qatari teams are also interested, though Aston Villa have not completely ruled out the prospect of extending his £32,000-a-week contract at this stage.
Given that Taylor is still a regular in Dean Smith’s matchday squad, you would imagine that Villa will prioritise a new left-back if the Welshman does indeed depart.
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