Scout Report — Taylor Perry
Taylor Perry became Cheltenham FC’s second loan signing of the summer, just 2 days before the first league match away to Crewe Alexandra. The talented midfielder, whose main club is Wolverhampton, has already made first team appearances in the Carabao cup and Europa League. Full stats of his career below, courtesy of Transfermarkt.
Many thanks to @JPotsy1 who provided valuable help in this report.
I’ve watched a couple of his U23 games, as well as his features for Wolves’ first team in pre season, against Real Betis and our upcoming opponents Crewe. In the games for the first team, new Wolves manager Bruno Lage opted to play Perry slightly deeper than he did when playing in the premier league 2.
In the games for the U23’s however, Perry played in a 5–3–2 system, somewhat similar to that which Duff employs at Cheltenham. Perry generally operated on the right of the three man midfield, although often moved ovver to the left hand side. He was also given much freedom to roam forwards to a wide half-space, or centrally into a CAM position. I think the fact that he is comfortable playing in a team that plays with 3 centre-backs will be important in his addition to the squad, helping him to get up to speed on the tactics and playstyle slightly quicker.
Below I have made a simple colour coded report on Perry, based off of the games I watched. I have based this on the Premier League 2, so dark green would be considered very good for PL2 level, etc.
Technical
Taylor is a great ball technician, as are most players coming out of Premier league academies these days. His ball receptions is solid, taking good positive touches where possible in order to give him an advantage in 1v1 situations. He loves to drive and carry the ball at the defence, and showed good dribbling and ball control when doing so, allowing him to win a number of fouls for his team. He showed good ability off both his feet, which allowed him to drift to the left of midfield and still be confident. Passing wise he was OK. He never dropped to collect the ball as he was always higher up the pitch. His short passing was generally sound, and he did have the eye for passes into the box, but underhit them a couple of times. On the rare occasions he attempted long passes, they could have been more accurate. He was on and off set pieces, rarely taking corners but was often free-kick taker, both in shooting and crossing positions. His crosses were inconsistent, however his shots at goal proved to be more dangerous.
Although playing forward, Perry took few shots in the matches I saw. He preferred to work round the edges of the box and recycle possession, and potentially arrive with late charges into the area. Looking on towards his technique in the tackle, he struggled in this area. Perry often got his timing wrong, and committed himself often when it was not the right decision. He would need to work on his tackling a lot more if he was to play deeper.
Mental/Tactical
Perry proved to be tactically astute in his attack. His movement was excellent, and he was good at creating space for his teammates as well as himself. When in an advanced position, he sometimes lacks the eye for a real killer pass that unlocks defence. As he positioned himself higher up the pitch a lot of the time, it did leave the rest of the team slightly exposed to the counter on transition, so just needs to become decisive in when he is going to hang back or push into the forward line. Similar to this, he sometimes is lacking in concentration, just drifting from positions leaving space to pass through the line. This also happened when on the ball against Real Betis, where he lost concentration and made a wayward back pass.
One of his best attributes is his work rate. He never stops running, always eager to make up for a mistake. This comes hand in hand with his pressing ability, where he is very good at covering distances quickly to block off passing lanes or attempt to dispossess an opponent. Perry is quite aggressive in his press, but didn’t give many fouls away in the games I watched, which is a good sign . He seems to work well with teammates and combined well in quick, flowing moves, e.g 1–2 combinations.
Phyiscal
Perry is of average height and stockiness. His agility is fantastic and he combines this with good acceleration off the mark, which proves difficult to defenders when he runs directly at them in 1v1 situations. Perry is well balanced on the ball and turns very nicely, shifting his hips well which could prove useful against less mobile league 1 defenders. He’s not weak by any means, and isn’t afraid to put himself into challenges against the opposition. In all the U23 games I watched, Perry lasted the full game and didn’t seem to tire that much, which is a good sign that his stamina is at a good level. In the air is probably his biggest weakness, although for someone in his position in the midfield this is hardly a worry.
Conclusion, and the fit in Michael Duff’s Cheltenham
Perry looks to be a great pickup. His style of play suits Cheltenham extremely well, and he seems to possess the right attributes (work-rate, determination) that Michael Duff desires throughout his team. I don’t see him as an immediate starter, but the midfield now has plenty of competition which is good for all the players. Sercombe and Thomas are almost nailed-on currently, and that leaves the likes of Chapman, Wright and Perry to compete for the final, more attacking midfield spot. I anticipate Perry to come off the bench in the first couple or be used as a rotation option. Off the bench he can use his pace and direct running against tiring defenders. If he proves himself/depending on injuries, may see himself become a regular starter.