Stoke City endured a disappointing start to the season on Saturday, but the performance of former Bristol Rovers loan star Connor Taylor was a source of optimism for manager Michael O'Neill.
The Gas had hoped for the centre-back to return on loan again after he played a pivotal role in their promotion to League One last season, but the chances have appeared increasingly remote and the 20-year-old now has a chance to cement his place in the Potters' starting XI.
Taylor returned to his parent club this summer after a brilliant stint with the Gas, leading the defence with class and physicality in equal measure despite his lack of experience, and he popped up with three invaluable goals as Joey Barton's side finished third in League Two.
Taylor has followed that up with an excellent pre-season with Stoke, earning a place in the starting XI for the opening day trip to Millwall. That ended in defeat for O'Neill's side, losing 2-0 at The Den on Saturday.
But that did not stop Taylor from making a positive impression. Playing alongside Aden Flint and Ben Wilmot in a back three, he was the top scorer in the Stoke Sentinel player ratings and he also earned praise from his manager.
"I thought he did well," O'Neill told StokeOnTrent Live. "He's a young player, had his first loan last season in League Two. To play a lot of games and then step up is a testament to him.
"He's had a really good pre-season and he's deserved his place in the starting XI. I thought of the centre-backs he was probably the best of the three at Millwall."
With Stoke reportedly keen to sign another centre-back this summer and star man Harry Souttar working his way back from injury – although that could take until October – a loan for Taylor cannot be completely ruled out but the chances are slim at best.
And those chances will be nil if the player continues to impress in the Championship. No one of a Rovers persuasion can begrudge Taylor his success after such a stellar contribution across 47 appearances in the blue and white quarters.
Indeed, Barton has already turned to other targets with centre-back an area of need for the Gas in the final four weeks of the window. Crystal Palace youngster Jake O'Brien, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Swindon Town, is in his sights.
"If he’s (Taylor) starting for them, he isn’t going to come here," Barton said on Saturday. "If he’s starting for Stoke City in the Championship, I’d be surprised.
"As I say, we’d love to have Connor back, but he isn’t our player and we’ve got to have different irons in the fire. We’ve got a few different options there, but again teams are keeping players in for pre-season, mainly Premier League, and they’re going ‘No, we’re going to keep them for another week’ because they’re a week behind us.
"We’ve just got to be patient and wait for the shakeout. Usually, at the end of the January window and the summer window, we advance the group and lots of stuff happens, as you know, in the last 24 hours of the market, let alone the last 24 days. Elliot Anderson happened in the last five minutes and Antony Evans was the same.
"We’ve just got to stay mobile."
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