Stats suggests whether Leeds star Charlie Taylor’s form has actually dipped this season

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The full-back has arguably been less impressive for the Championship side this season.

Leeds United’s Charlie Taylor

Given Charlie Taylor’s decision to hand in a transfer request during the summer (via BBC Sport), it would hardly be a surprise if the left-back’s form was disappointing in comparison with the standards he set last season.

During the last campaign, the 23-year-old established himself as a key man for the Whites. But this time around, the defender appears to have struggled to make the kind of impact on games that had previously made him so important since his emergence into the first-team.

But do the stats support the idea that Taylor has not quite been as influential this season?

Taylor’s stats from the 2015-16 season demonstrate how he became an important player both defensively as well as going forwards.

As well as putting in on average more than one accurate cross per game last term, he also made over two clearances and won six duels per game while making nearly three interceptions on average.

In comparison, while his average successful challenges and accurate passes per game has risen slightly this time around, it appears that he has struggled in other areas.

He is making fewer accurate crosses per game, winning fewer duels and making a considerably lower number of clearances and interceptions.

While the margins are seemingly small between his performance last season and this campaign, the fact that his performance levels appear to have gone down in several areas suggests that he is not having as big an impact this term.

And with a lack of depth in that position, that will be a concern for Monk in the short-term as youngster Tyler Denton is perhaps the most obvious candidate to replace Taylor if the manager decides that a change is needed, while Gaetano Berardi can also be utilised on the left.

But on a slightly more positive note, Taylor’s form suggests that should he leave in the coming months – which BBC Sport hinted is inevitable given his desire to move on coupled with the fact that his contract has entered its final year – Leeds’ loss is perhaps not as great as it would have seemed last season when he was on fire.

But of course, Monk will surely feel if Taylor is moving on, that he would like the academy graduate to rediscover his best form for the final months of his spell with the Peacocks so he can leave them in the best position possible.