Paul Doyle of The Guardian recently claimed that Neil Taylor might be loaned out by Aston Villa before the January transfer window shuts, but it’s hard to see such a move being greenlit as it would leave Dean Smith short at left-back.
The Welshman is out of favour at Villa Park and won’t be happy sitting on the bench or being left out of the matchday squad, but he is still useful in a backup role. The 31-year-old has made only three appearances in all competitions this season, but he would be the first player Smith calls upon if Matt Targett becomes unavailable.
Taylor is out of contract at the end of the season and is expected to depart as he is not in talks over an extension, but Villa don’t have a lot of depth to let a first team player leave early without a replacement being lined up.
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Smith doesn’t expect any outgoings this month and it would be needless to ask an out-of-favour right-back like Frederic Guilbert to play in a makeshift role in an emergency just to facilitate Taylor’s loan departure, so why not keep him for another few months?
The Welsh international is no longer commanding a starting place, but he’s important enough to the squad to make the bench in all but two of Villa’s Premier League games since the start of November and is worth keeping.
