Former Leeds United left-back was a target for Tony Pulis at West Brom.
We are used to West Brom fans expressing their frustration with Tony Pulis these days. But the supporters appeared more than justified to make their concern clear when Sky Sports reported in May that the divisive tactician admitted he was prepared to drop his interest in Leeds United left-back Charlie Taylor.
Pulis did not want to go to a tribunal to agree on a transfer fee for youngster. This is despite the fact that West Brom clearly needed reinforcements at left-back, having been forced to field Chris Brunt or Allan Nyom out of position last season.
Six months later, however, Wests Brom still fans have plenty of reasons to criticise Pulis but backing out of the Taylor deal is not one of them.
Far better value
In the end, Premier League rivals Burnley were forced to pay £7 million for the York-born full-back, per The Express – and have proceeded to hand him just two starts in all competitions since, both of those coming in the EFL Cup.
In the meantime, Pulis did manage to bring a much-needed left-back to The Hawthorns. And he deserves great credit for managing to sign Arsenal’s England international Kieran Gibbs for the same price that Burnley paid for Taylor, a player without a minute of Premier League football under his belt, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
Gibbs has got his career back on track at The Hawthorns and has impressed in his eight Premier League appearances for his new club. He’s certainly made far more of an impact than Taylor has at Turf Moor.
And, in today’s market, signing a player with Gibbs’ reputation and ability for just £7 million must be commended.
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