Manchester City have reportedly landed highly-rated Aston Villa youngster Kane Taylor, who was also on the radar of Liverpool and other Premier League giants.
The Telegraph have reported that Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have lost out in the race to sign Kane Taylor. Manchester City have gazumped others for the highly-rated Aston Villa youngster, who will be joining up with City’s Under-16 squad for the upcoming season.
The report states that Taylor had de-registered at Aston Villa during the 2018-19 season, which means that the player was available for a cut-price fee of £129,000 as per the Elite Player Performance Plan compensation scheme. The cut-price fee was one of the major reasons Taylor drew interest from the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and his new club Manchester City.
Good luck to former Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA captain Kane Taylor ahead of his exciting move. Kane was a credit to @BPSFA during his two years of district football. A perfect example, on and off the pitch, of what makes Brummie kids so great! #WeAreBrum https://t.co/W4fIiSz4WG pic.twitter.com/xxRu80cqAC
— BPSFA (@bpsfa) August 7, 2019
City have continued to buy young for their academy, with the club offering a very lucrative program to the player and his family, including education costs, top class coaching and accommodation. Among the other clubs mentioned, Liverpool were the most keen on Taylor and even made attempts to persuade the 14-year-old to sign for the Champions League winners.
The Reds have recruited young this summer, with deals done for Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg. City, on the other hand, have improved their first-team vastly this season, with no standout deals for young stars, except the arrival of Felix Correia from Sporting CP.
Since the inception of the EPPP and agreement of all English football league clubs to the same, the transfer market has seen many similar deals to the one Manchester City have completed for Taylor. While the program does ensure clubs like Aston Villa are adequately compensated for the development costs, it is much much less compared to what they would potentially command if they continue at the said club for a couple of years or more.
The left footed midfielder also had interest and informal offers made by the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. The Red Devils, in particular, have been in action in the transfer market to recruit youngsters, with Hannibal Mejbri the latest one poised to complete a £9 million move to the club from AS Monaco.
However unfair it might be for Aston Villa, the deal represents a great opportunity for young 14-year-old Kane Taylor, who will have the best coaches and elite level players to see and learn from at Manchester City.
