Reliable journalist gives update on where in-demand Leeds star will start the season

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Published on:

29 Jul 2016, 6:11 am

By Will Butcher

Leeds are confident Charlie Taylor will start the season at Elland Road, according to a reliable club journalist.

The Yorkshire giants begin their Championship campaign on Saturday week with a trip to London, where they face QPR.

The Mirror claimed on Friday that Taylor wants to quit Leeds after rejecting a new contract and is keen to join newly-promoted Burnley.

But Yorkshire Evening Post writer Lee Sobot claimed on his personal Twitter account later on Friday morning that Leeds owner Massimo Cellino does not want to cash in on Taylor.

Sobot wrote that only a Cellino U-turn and a "firm bid" for Taylor would mean the left-back not starting the campaign at Elland Road.

Re Taylor interest; MC doesn't seem to want to sell so unless a firm bid and change of heart Taylor fully expected to start season at #lufc
— Lee Sobot (@LeeSobotYEP) July 29, 2016

The Mirror report that Premier League clubs West Brom, West Ham and Middlesbrough are also interested in signing the £6million-rated 22-year-old.

But it is said that Taylor would prefer to transfer to Turf Moor after snubbing a new deal at Elland Road.

Speaking to Radio Yorkshire, chief executive Ben Mansford said earlier this week Leeds' Player of the Year is not prepared to renew his contract, despite having just 12 months remaining on his Elland Road deal.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, controversial chairman Massimo Cellino has also spoken publicly about Taylor’s contract situation, stating that renewing his current deal could be difficult.

The former Fleetwood loanee has the same agent as former Leeds right-back Sam Byram, who became the first of the club's highly rated academy graduates to move to the Premier League when he joined West Ham in January.

Lewis Cook subsequently joined Bournemouth in a deal rising to £10million earlier in the summer window.

Taylor has firmly established himself as Leeds’ first-choice left-back and made 42 appearances for the Whites last season, chipping in with seven assists.

Sean Dyche is keen on making additions to his Burnley side, after making just two signings this summer in Charlton duo Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Nick Pope.

West Ham though are desperate to bring in a left-back, after losing Aaron Cresswell to a long-term knee injury. Alexander Buttner, Wendell and Jose Enrique have also been linked with a move to the Olympic Stadium.

In other Leeds transfer news, Mansford has also had this to say on Leeds' new signing Hadi Sacko.

Leeds United

Charlie Taylor