‘Surprised and disappointed’ – BBC pundit delivers verdict on Leeds 23-year-old

Sun 7 May 2017 15:20, UK

By Harvey Byrne

BBC pundit and former Leeds striker Noel Whelan has spoken of his disappointment for current player Charlie Taylor after it was revealed he had refused to play for the club on Sunday.

The Yorkshire giants travelled to Lancashire for their final Championship game of the season as they faced Wigan at the DW Stadium.

However, their 18-man squad did not feature academy graduate Taylor and after the game Garry Monk told after the game that the 23-year old had refused to play.

This has understandably brought a lot of anger in his direction from those associated with Leeds and one of those was Whelan, who stated that he couldn’t get his head around Taylor’s decision.

“I’m very surprised and disappointed about the Taylor news – who is advising him? The agents have a say, but that doesn’t matter. It comes down to the player, and he’ll have to live with that. I can’t get my head around it,” told Whelan, as quoted by the BBC news live match blog. (2.33pm).

“He had an opportunity today to play his last game for the fans, and for the fans to show their appreciation to him. He’s blown all of that.”

Taylor joined Leeds in 2010 at the age of 16 and broke through the academy ranks, marking his debut for the first team in August 2011 at 17 in a League Cup match against Bradford.