West Brom will have a close eye on Bolton Wanderers ahead of the summer: View | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion are set for a very turbulent transfer window this summer, with many player's futures up in the air - Caleb Taylor a real example of this.

The Baggies have had a strong season in Carlos Corberan’s first full season at the helm as they look set for the play-offs, despite having ownership issues for the majority of the season.

These issues led to West Brom having a very quiet summer and January transfer window, where Corberan only managed to bring in seven players, only on free transfers and loans.

Luckily for them, Shilen Patel bought a majority stake in the club earlier this year from Chinese business person Guochuan Lai, so no matter what next season, Corberan will surely be backed to a better degree than he has been in the last 12 months.

With this, though, it has meant that Corberan has had to try and utilise the players already at his disposal, including the younger players. Some have kicked on this season, whilst others have struggled - and some decisions will have to be made on those for next season.

Caleb Taylor injury halts development

Taylor is a 21-year-old centre-back who started out at West Brom at U10 level and has risen through the ranks at the club.

Captaining the Baggies’ U18 and U21 teams, it then led him to making the matchday squads with the first team towards the end of their last Premier League campaign under Sam Allardyce. The next season, Valerian Ismael would give him his first start for the club in a 6-0 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup. He would make a total of three appearances across the season.

It was then felt that Taylor needed to go out and get experience playing first-team football, which led to a loan move to League One side Cheltenham Town. He would help them finish in 16th, playing in all-but one league game.

Returning to West Brom after a successful season, there was optimism that Taylor would be able to make an impact at The Hawthorns.

After only making three league appearances in the first half of the campaign, he secured a loan move to Bolton Wanderers late in the window, a team in League One chasing promotion to the Championship.

coming off injured in his fifth game against Cambridge United.

West Brom have Caleb Taylor decision on the horizon

With Taylor not playing as many minutes as either West Brom or Bolton would like this season, a decision has to be made whether the Baggies keep him in the first team next season, or loan him out again.

Taylor has a contract at West Brom until 2025. At 21, he still has plenty of potential to become a first-team player for Albion, but this season has definitely halted his progression. If Albion are promoted to the Premier League through the play-offs, it is highly unlikely that he will make the first team and another loan should be on the cards.

But if they stay in the Championship, it is important to look at what they already have. In terms of current contracted options Albion have for next season, along with Taylor, they only have Semi Ajayi. Kyle Bartley, Martin Kelly and Cedric Kipre are all out of contract, so it remains to be seen what happens with a key department in Corberan's squad.

Albion will certainly be looking at centre-back as a position where they need depth, but they may feel another loan move for Taylor could be the best option for him personally. This is a decision, though, that could all be dependent on how well Taylor does for the rest of the season at Bolton, if he indeed plays as they look to overturn Derby County's lead in the automatic promotion race or work their way through the play-offs.

If Taylor does well in these final few games of the campaign, and even helps Bolton get promoted, West Brom may feel inclined to give him another go in the first team next season instead of loaning him out. In saying that, pre-season will prove to be a big moment in the Baggies' decision.

Both Bolton and West Brom have irons in the fire at this late stage of the season and plenty on their plate. Ultimately, though, there has to be an eye on Taylor, with a crucial 2024/25 on the horizon for him.