Joe Taylor, the forward who won two EFL honours in March, is undoubtedly on the manager Rob Edwards’ radar for the upcoming campaign.
Three months into the season, the 21-year-old still leads the U’s scoring records with 12 goals in 27 appearances while on loan at League Two Colchester United. However, former Hatter Cameron McGeehan is now attempting to surpass that total. After that, in January, Town called him back, and he went to the Imps to try his luck at a higher level. He adjusted to the third division of English football rather swiftly.
Taylor scored two goals in his first nine games after needing five games to get off to a strong start. In March, he had a prolific run of six goals in five games, including two in the 6-0 thumping of Cambridge United and a hat-trick against Bristol Rovers. The forward’s record of nine goals in 17 games for his new club increased when he was named both the Sky Bet League One Player of the Month and the finest Young Player in the EFL for the same month.
His overall statistics show off his goal-scoring prowess, as he has scored 21 goals in 44 games this season. He is having a fantastic first full season, which may be prolonged as Lincoln defeated Oxford United 1-0 last night to move within two points of the play-off spots with two games remaining. Edwards has the former Peterborough young player on his mind for the 2024–25 season, even if Town isn’t sure what league they will play in next year.
He stated: “We’ll see what the right thing is for Joe going forward.”
“He’d done well in League Two, ticked that off, doing well in League One as well, so we’ll have to see what the next thing is for him. It’s too early at the moment, we’ve got a lot of decisions to make between now and the summer, but of course he’s in our thinking for next season as well. I want him to concentrate on what he’s concentrating on at the moment first and foremost and the reason he’s been talked about is because he’s concentrating on what he’s doing right now and that’s performing for Lincoln.”
On the award itself, Edwards continued: “It’s great recognition for someone who’s doing really, really well, so I’m really proud of him. He’s had a great year and hopefully he can finish it off as they’re in the mix. He’s been a big part of their really good form, we’re proud of Joe, he’s done really well.”
Speaking to Lincoln’s official website, Taylor, who scored for Luton in their penalty shoot-out play-off final win over Coventry City at Wembley, said: “It’s a massive achievement for myself. I’ve had a really successful month, both personally and with the team. I’m just hoping now that we can carry it on going into the latter stages of the season and earn ourselves that last play-off spot. It’s been brilliant to get ourselves to where we are now, given where we were. There’s no good in doing what we’ve done now and not seeing the job out. For us, the aim is the play-offs – it has to be.
“I’ve loved every second of my loan at Lincoln City – the players, coaching staff and everyone around the club have been brilliant and that has been reflected in the performances and results. Everything about the club is working for me at the moment. The fans get the LNER Stadium rocking on matchdays, and really get behind us on the road, so this award gives me an extra confidence boost going into the final games of the season.”
Meanwhile, City’s head coach Michael Skubala added: “Joe deserves this award for the work he puts in on the training pitch every day – he’s improved as a player throughout his time at the club and has been rewarded with the goals and accolades. But he knows he needs a team to score and, while he’s the one whose job it is to put it in the back of the net, he’s also shown his willingness to work for the benefit of the whole team and do whatever is needed as part of the gameplan.”
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