With the end of the current transfer window fast approaching, Latics have moved to strengthen our striking options with the loan signing of Nottingham Forest and Northern Ireland international Dale Taylor for the 2024/25 season.
Despite being just 20-years-old he’s a player with a good amount of League One experience, he’s scored goals at this level and has shown a willingness and ability to develop his game quickly. He made real strides during his temporary stay at Wycombe Wanderers last season and hopefully we can see something similar again.
There was understandably some concern about another loanee arriving, and it’s hard to argue with the logic that developing other team’s players isn’t entirely beneficial to a club aiming to be fully self-sustainable. I do think that feeling has been worsened by the fact that both of our first choice number nines now are only here temporarily, which could leave us in trouble this time next year.
That said we have to look at Dale Taylor for what he is, and that’s a very capable forward player at League One level. I know he’s still young, but he’s experienced for someone of his age and has seen a lot in his short professional career. If he can bring his main qualities; his energy, movement, link-up play and finishing to the table we’ll be delighted to have him.
In this, and every ‘Welcome to Wigan Athletic’ article that I post this summer, I’ll be taking a closer look at all aspects of the new signing’s game. Their profile, where they’ve played before and how they’ve performed, their suitability to our club and our style of play, and a report on their best attributes as well of areas of their game that could hold them back. As best I can I’m going to try and provide you, the valued reader, with the best possible idea of what to expect from our recruits.
And as there’s no time like the present, here we go. Dale Taylor, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!
Profile
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 6’1″
NATIONALITY: NORTHERN IRISH
POSITION: STRIKER, ATTACKING MIDFIELDER
PREFERRED FOOT: RIGHT
Strengths
Dale Taylor is an interesting signing for a number of reasons because he’s perhaps not your typical centre forward. Firstly, he’s not got loads of experience playing up top during his loan moves and actually featured mainly as an attacking midfielder at Wycombe. That’s something I’m sure played a part in making him attractive to us because he can fit into a number of roles for us.
The reason he is so versatile is because he has a solid core of attributes that suit all aspects of attacking play, without really excelling in any. He’s sharp but not rapid, strong but not a brute, can link the play nicely but isn’t overly creative and can score goals but isn’t clinical. These aren’t bad things at all, because at 20-years-old you’d like to think the only way is up for him.
Physically the Northern Irishman can mix it with most in the league and should stand up well when it comes to duels. Equally I back him to have a yard on most players pace wise, especially in central areas where he can carry the ball really well. I do like him as a second striker based on that alone. He’s at the stage in his career Chris Sze should hopefully be in a years time.
In front of goal he’s got the ability to pull off some really clean finishes. He definitely favours finesse rather than power when it comes to shooting, a preference that allows him to score some lovely goals but also makes the margin for error greater. Someone like Stephen Humphrys for example relied on power, and almost the element of surprise, with his shots which is on the other end of the spectrum.
He looks after the ball well when he has it which is obviously important for a player in our side. Taylor lacks the natural killer instinct of an out and out goal scorer, but makes up for that with a good level of decision making in attacking areas. Joe Hugill is someone I imagine will shoot when he gets the chance regardless of how well placed a teammate is, whereas Taylor is likely the opposite. That blend is nice to have and could make them a decent pairing later down the line.
The 20-year-old’s energy and enthusiasm is infectious and something he received praise for at his previous clubs. Yes, he’s not our player beyond this season, but we can rest assured that Taylor is here to better our club as well as himself. There’s a lot to like about him at League One level, and improves our forward options without a shadow of a doubt. That’s him now, imagine what he could be like if he hits form and develops quickly like loanees sometimes do.
Limitations
I guess the ‘lack of experience’ tag is one that can be placed on him again, as is the case with pretty much everyone we’ve signed this summer. While I don’t think that’s as big an issue as some might see it as it would be wrong of me not to mention it, and it does remain to be seen if Taylor can maintain solid performances week in week out across all sorts of games and circumstances.
I do also wonder if he’s someone that needs to play consistent minutes to really impact the team. Interestingly enough he’s started over 80% of his games in League One, which is a number I expect to drop at Latics given the number of options we have in attacking areas. Again, it’s the kind of thing that I can’t really say with any great certainty, but he hasn’t proved his ability to impact games on a consistently inconsistent basis, if that makes sense!
Taylor is someone that seemed to benefit from having 60+ minutes to impress week in week out. I think we saw it with Jonny Smith at the start of last season, he wasn’t playing regularly and never looked as impactful as he did when he had a good few games consecutively under his belt later on in the season. If that’s the case with Taylor it could be a slow start to his loan spell.
In terms of technical / tactical limitations the main one I’ve seen in the footage I’ve watched is a slight tendency to overplay when he’s facing our own goal. If he comes to get the ball in deeper areas Taylor can sometimes think he has more time than he does, maybe lacking the instinct to scan that a more natural attacking midfielder would have. It’s less of an issue as a nine, but can be costly if we aren’t well set defensively.
In truth just as there weren’t any standout strengths to his game, there aren’t many weaknesses either. Dale Taylor is just a very solid player at this level, who probably won’t tear up the division or make it look extremely difficult. The biggest thing that could hold him back will be how quickly he settles in to the area, the environment around the club and the system.
Potential Fit
I’ve touched on it a lot already and I’ll do so again… Dale Taylor is a do-it-all attacking player. At Wycombe last season he spent around 50% of his time playing behind a target man like Sam Vokes or Richard Kone. I do like him as that second striker type player, and he’s not too dissimilar to how Will Keane played that role in the sense that he’s very much goal scorer first, creator second.
In that sense I do struggle to see where this leaves Chris Sze in the squad, because if Taylor ever features in the 10 role it’ll likely be in place of the Latics academy graduate. I know Shaun Maloney has brought Dale in to bolster our striker options, but he’ll want game time and we might not be able to offer that consistently as a number nine.
There’s a lot to like about him in any of the forward positions in our current system, but assuming he’s used predominantly as a nine it does lend itself to a much more fluid system behind him. That means more emphasis falls on Thelo to get into the box and score, and the same goes for our wide players and one of the centre midfielders.
I think I prefer him most as the second striker behind someone like Joe Hugill, or maybe a different option if our business is yet to be concluded! From there we can get him threatening in goal scoring areas while also using his decent link-up play without losing a focal point up top. Importantly though, he’s a player that should do well for us in several important positions.
Final Thoughts
I know it’s a signing that has been met with mixed feelings from Latics fans, but that shouldn’t in any way be down to the kind of player Dale Taylor is. He’s a new, quality profile that we’ve added to our ranks and has all of the tools to have a solid impact on our season and help us achieve our goals, whatever they might be.
And while he signed a new deal at Nottingham Forest before joining us on loan it’s not hard to see a world in which, providing he does well for us, the move is made permanent later down the line. He’s a good player at a good age with good experience, and if we can help his development I’m sure he’s a player we’d like to keep around long-term. It sounds like we tried to make it a permanent signing this summer as it is.
Dale Taylor will do well at Latics providing he gets settled in quickly. We’ll play very differently to what he’s been used to at Burton and Wycombe, and the lack of a pre-season with us is frustrating, but as soon as he clicks I back him to do well. His personality appears to be spot on and with our record of developing youngsters he should fit in nicely.
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Dale Taylor. Up the Tics!
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