"Has been a rock" - Bristol Rovers' Connor Taylor slated for summer exit | OneFootball

Football League World's resident Bristol Rovers pundit fears the Gas will lose their defensive star this summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol Rovers are predicted to lose star centre-back Connor Taylor this summer, following the defender’s “immense” performances for the Gas.

A key figure in the Rovers side that claimed promotion from League Two back in the 2021/22 season, Taylor is again impressing at the Memorial Stadium during the 2024/25 League One campaign.

However, it is feared that Taylor’s efforts at the back for the Gas will catch the attention of clubs higher up the pyramid.

Connor Taylor “has been a rock” for Bristol Rovers

Taylor’s first spell as a Bristol Rovers saw the defender claim the club’s young player of the season after a successful loan spell from Stoke City.

After failing to break into Stoke’s first team the following season, Taylor returned to Bristol Rovers ahead of the 2023/24 season, signing a three-year deal.

That ensures the defender is still under contract at the Memorial Stadium until the end of next season, but Football League World's resident Bristol Rovers expert Ziggy Carter believes the 23-year-old will be headhunted by Championship clubs this summer.

When asked by FLW which player he thought was most likely to leave this summer, Ziggy responded: “The player that I feel is most likely to leave the summer is Connor Taylor, the 23-year-old centre-back who has been immense for us this season.

“He has been a rock really, especially during times when we've needed him.

“He has really stood up to the task and especially recently against Huddersfield, he got man of the match, for example.

“He’s been very, very good for us and his stats are good as well.

“He's won 68% of tackles, won 76% of duels.

“He wins 75% of his aerial duels, and his average rating on FotMob is 7.05, which is very good concerning the situation we’re in and the defensive issues we've had.

“So I think he is very likely be taken off our hands. I think he is Championship level.

“He's massive - wins so many headers, has started to look more offensive at attacking corners as well, and wins a lot at defensive corners as well.

“It might be recency bias because of he is performances more recently under Calderon.”

Bristol Rovers will miss Connor Taylor if he departs this summer

Ziggy went on to share how Bristol Rovers will be slightly threadbare at the back if Taylor was to depart at the end of the campaign.

Veteran defender James Wilson is out of contract in the summer, whilst Aston Villa loanee Sil Swinkels is set to return to his parent club.

“I think he will be missed, looking at our centre-backs,” Ziggy continued.

“We've got James Wilson, who's the senior centre-back, and we’ve got Sil Swinkels, who is on loan.

“However, other than that, I think he is our best defender and we will miss him next season if he goes.”