OPINION
Aston Villa will have no doubt been given a new lease of life after Dean Smith was appointed as the new manager not long ago.
However, in order to give the club that new lease of life, Smith needs to make some decisions that could potentially make or break Villa’s season.
One of those decisions must be to bin full-back Neil Taylor in January, as he has clearly demonstrated that he is not up to the task of the Championship.
He has missed out to Alan Hutton for the last 18 months, and that really says it all regarding his future at Villa Park.
Taylor is simply not good enough for the likes of Villa anymore, and it is not like he has made the greatest of impacts since arriving from Swansea in January 2017.
Yes, he has made five appearances for the Villians this season – but that does not ignore the fact that he is no longer up to scratch.
Villa need to achieve promotion this season, and by the looks of things so far, Taylor is not the player who can help them do that.
Offloading him in January would make complete sense, and Smith must not be afraid to cash in on him when the transfer window comes around in just a few months’ time.
Taylor may have only been at the club for just over a year, but Villa really need to cut their losses with him.
Even though the 29-year-old is a natural in his position as a full-back, he has just looked out of place ever since he arrived at Villa.
Smith has promotion to think about, and there is no doubt that he will go into the transfer window with a watchful eye – and if he recruits a full-back, then that will all but spell the end for Taylor.
Nevertheless, Taylor must be binned come January, as he is gutless and simply not up to scratch anymore.