Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer has confirmed that leading goalscorer Lyle Taylor won’t feature for the club when the season resumes after the coronavirus shutdown.
The 30-year-old joined the Addicks from AFC Wimbledon in the summer of 2018 and was influential in their promotion from League One with 21 goals from 41 outings.
Despite having never played in the Championship, he has impressed this term with 11 goals from 22 appearances and that has given the Addicks a fighting chance of staying in the division.
Taylor’s current deal with the club expires on June 30 and Bowyer has revealed that the centre-forward won’t take any part for the London outfit during the remaining nine games of the season.
The ex-Leeds United star added that the striker does not want to pick up an injury on the season restart which may scupper his chances of earning a life-changing move.
“Lyle is in a different situation, regarding financially. He is going to earn money that he has never earned before, he has a lot of clubs queueing up from what I understand, ready to take him,” He told Sky Sports.
“He’s earnt that, he’s been great. He’s helped us get into the Championship. His goals have given us a shout of staying in the league. If he gets injured, he won’t get a move that would set up his family for the rest of his life.“
Bowyer’s side remained outside of the relegation places for most of the campaign and they only dropped into the bottom three in the final matchday before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In the absence of Taylor, the Addicks will have to rely on Macauley Bonne to make the difference upfront. The Zimbabwe international has bagged eight goals in the Championship and Bowyer will be hoping that the forward has fully recovered from the hamstring injury which hampered him earlier in the year.
Jonathan Leko and Conor Gallagher (both loan) are the other two players, who have netted five or more goals for Charlton. Leko has returned to parent club West Bromwich Albion after suffering a season-ending knee injury in December.
Gallagher, on the other hand, was recalled by Chelsea in the middle of January. The Blues graduate is currently on loan with Swansea City, who have a chance of securing promotion with a three-point gap to the final play-off spot.
The Addicks are currently two points adrift of safety with nine games to play but Bowyer has previously said that he is optimistic about his club’s prospects of avoiding relegation with a healthier squad at his disposal. Still, Taylor’s absence makes the challenge much tougher than expected.
Taylor is attracting Premier League interest from the likes of Crystal Palace, Burnley and Bournemouth while promotion-chasing Preston North End have also been linked with his services. Scottish giants Rangers are also understood to be monitoring his situation.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
