Taylor ready to act if Exeter need players
EXETER City manager Matt Taylor says he is always looking to strengthen his squad, but any incomings are unlikely unless there is another departure from St James Park.
Many fans have been calling for the club to invest after receiving a significant sum of money following Ollie Watkins’ transfer from Brentford to Aston Villa, but with the rise of Covid cases across the UK curtailing the prospect of fans being allowed back inside stadiums, the Grecians are rightly being frugal with the money they have received.
Randell Williams turned down the opportunity to move to Peterborough United last month after the Grecians had agreed a fee with the League One club, but with so many young talents catching the eye at St James Park, there is always interest from clubs higher up the food chain.
Williams returned to the City side for the 2-1 win at Mansfield last week and remains the most likely to depart. But Tyalor says that while there is no imminent comings or goings, the Grecians are being active so they are ready to pounce if anything does materialise.
The Grecians boss has an unnamed trialist training with the club right now and he played in Monday’s 3-2 friendly defeat to Torquay United. Taylor said: “We have a lad in and we are looking at him this week. He has come from a Category One Academy and it’s just a case of we are looking at him as much as he is looking at us.
“It had been arranged before the Randell situation arose and turned out like it did, but you are always looking at players to fill gaps incase players move on.
“We are assessing that. He got a small amount of game time on Monday and he has trained with us throughout the week and will do so again tomorrow and it will probably be an ongoing situation where if a 0player moved on from our ranks, then we would look to move towards bringing someone in. But out of respect to the club that has allowed him to come and train, I can’t give his name away, or the club.
“At the moment, that would depend on players moving out and also keeping open the pathways for our younger players coming through.”
Hull City were the other club said to be interested in Williams, while reported interest from Stoke City and Middlesbrough appears to have cooled. It is believed that Williams wants to move to the Championship and asked if there had been further interest, Taylor said: “Not as it stands.
“I am sure people are watching our games and people will have seen some impressive performances from some of our players last weekend, not just Randell but, as it stands, he is still our player.
“It was pleasing that he started the game last week and he has started to find some rhythm to his game as well as well. If he is here, then he will be a big player for us this season – as he was last year. I don’t know if I will turn my phone off the closer we get to the 16th (transfer deadline day) that remains to be seen, but whatever happens will be down to Randell and how he performs.”
Taylor continued: “You are always looking for improvements, certainly in certain areas, but there is always a risk factor when you recruit in terms of if you lose certain personnel, how it affects the team and whether you’d need to change shape and formation and the dynamic of your group.
“We are well aware of what is to come in the next few months and the way the team is set up will continually change but you always want to strengthen.”