Charlton boss Lee Bowyer gives verdict on Lyle Taylor signing Nottingham Forest deal
Lee Bowyer reckons Lyle Taylor has landed himself a top Championship club – after the former Charlton striker signed for Forest at the weekend.
The forward, 30, has penned a three-year deal at the City Ground.
Taylor was a free agent after leaving the Addicks. He opted not to play the closing weeks of the campaign after the Covid-19 outbreak forced the domestic season to be suspended – the final nine fixtures being crammed into a hectic schedule in July.
Taylor did not want to risk picking up a serious injury which would prevent him from securing his favoured move.
Bowyer signed the Montserrat international after he had run down his Wimbledon contract in July 2018.
Taylor scored 36 goals in 67 appearances for the Addicks and was a hugely pivotal part of the Addicks side which won promotion via the League One play-offs.
“It’s a good move for Lyle,” said Bowyer.
“They [Forest] only just missed out on the play-offs. It’s a massive club if we go back over the years.
“Two years ago before he signed for us he was at Wimbledon trying to fight to stay in League One. Now he is going on to play in a team that has won European trophies.
“It’s a good move and, let’s be honest, he has earned it. It didn’t finish the way we all wanted at Charlton. But you can’t take away what he did for us over those two years – the goals he scored for us and what he brought to the team at the top end of the pitch. That is why he is going to play for a good Nottingham Forest team.
“You need strikers, like every team needs strikers. If you look at the teams near the top, maybe they [Forest] fell a bit short when [Lewis] Grabban was not quite at it. Did they have other options as good as Lyle? Probably not.
“It is a squad game now. If you play one up top you need at least two up top and if you play with two then you need to have four. Last season we had all four out injured at one stage.
“Forest have got two very good strikers, two of probably the better ones in the whole division.”
PICTURE BY PAUL EDWARDS
