Lincoln City must make new Luton Town transfer advance: View | OneFootball

Never mind League One, Joe Taylor has been one of the hottest strikers in the country since he joined Lincoln City in the January transfer window.

After impressing in the fourth tier with Colchester United, the Luton Town loanee has made the step up a division with ease in the second half of the campaign, and has helped lead the Imps’ charge for a playoff spot this campaign.

With nine goals in his 14 appearances since making the move to Sincil Bank, the striker is yet to taste defeat in the colours of his new side, and has spearheaded an attacking line that has plundered goals for fun of late under Michael Skubala.

With his red-hot form only set to continue, City need to be doing all they can to try to keep hold of the striker on a permanent basis in the summer, regardless of which division they find themselves in.

Joe Taylor's Colchester United and Lincoln City form

Taylor finds himself in the rare position of being top scorer for two separate clubs as we reach the final stages of the season, with his 12 goals for Colchester yet to be topped - despite leaving the club three months ago - while he also leads the way for his current employers.

What makes the striker’s recent record even better for the Imps is that he failed to find the net in his first five appearances for the club, having squandered a number of opportunities to get himself on the scoresheet.

That means he has found the net nine times in his last nine matches, with vital goals in wins over Exeter City and Port Vale kickstarting City’s late playoff push, as well as taking the match ball home from a recent 5-0 rout of Bristol Rovers.

The forward is showing no signs of slowing down with another strike in the 3-1 win over Carlisle United on Easter Monday, taking his current record to 0.75 goals per 90; the best of any striker in the division, and by some margin to next-best Chris Martin too.

You only have to look at the hat-trick against the Gas to see Taylor’s natural goalscoring ability, and that nous for anticipating where the ball is going to land in the penalty area to snaffle any chances coming his way.

Two opportunistic headers were followed up with a deft chip over the onrushing goalkeeper for his third that day, while his beautiful curled effort from the edge of the area against Carlisle shows he isn’t just a close-range bandit.

With nine victories and five draws from his 14 appearances so far, Taylor has taken the Imps from also-rans to favourites for a playoff spot in League One this season as they currently sit in sixth; level with Oxford United in the hunt for the final place in the end-of-season lottery.

As the U’s continues to stutter under Des Buckingham, City have the chance to cement their place in the top six with clashes against Reading and Wigan Athletic next up, before a showdown with their playoff-chasing rivals at the Kassam Stadium in a fortnight’s time.

But in Taylor they have the ultimate weapon; a red-hot striker who can’t stop scoring goals, and if he continues in his rich vein of form there is no reason why Lincoln can’t go all the way in the search for Championship football next season.

Joe Taylor transfer interest

With Luton’s existence as a Premier League club still under threat, Taylor could well play himself out of a permanent move to Sincil Bank next season if he keeps his good form up, with the Hatters likely to want to keep hold of their man if they fall back into the Championship.

If they do manage to stay in the top flight, Lincoln will hope they are front of the queue in the clamour for his signature in the summer, and will surely be making early advances towards the Kenilworth Road outfit about the availability of their striker for the foreseeable future.

The striker's move to Town last January completed the rise from non-league to the Premier League, having been on the books of Kings Lynn Town less than two years before moving to Hertfordshire from Peterborough United.

After brief cameos off the bench for the Posh - as well as netting his first goal for the club against Plymouth Argyle in the Football League Trophy - he was snapped up by the current Premier League side last January, before rising to prominence in the current campaign.

A number of League One clubs were said to be interested in acquiring his services in the January transfer window, with Bolton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers among those said to have taken a shine to the young forward.

After making the step up from fourth division to the third so naturally, Taylor is the sort of player you can see flourishing at the next level with ease; the goalposts never move, after all, and he is a player who knows exactly how to find the back of the net.

Whatever division Lincoln find themselves in they would love Taylor to continue to lead the line next season, so they will be crossing everything that the Hatters keep their heads above water in the Premier League, because they may get one of the country’s hottest strikers at their disposal once again.