Neil Taylor joined Swansea City from Wrexham in 2010 for £150,000, and has gone on to be a tremendous acquisition.
He helped the Swans get promoted into the Premier League, albeit he was suspended for the play-off final. He has also been a firm left-back in the English top-flight in his five years playing there, and is now one of the first names on the Swansea team-sheet.
Amongst his successful tenure at the Liberty Stadium, Taylor’s gone on to become a Wales international, obtaining 26 caps in the famous red shirt. Also, the 27-year-old was selected by Stuart Pearce for a place in Great Britain’s 2012 Olympic football team.
He’s been a reliable man on the left side of defence for all these years, and looks to remain part of the club’s future.
Here, we’ve gathered some key images from Taylor’s Swansea career, highlighting some of the important happenings for him in Swansea colours.
Debut
Taylor made his Swansea debut in a 2-0 away loss at Norwich in August 2010. He replaced Albert Serran in the second-half.
Play-off heartbreak
In one of Swansea’s most important games in their history, the left-back was sent off just 53 seconds into the play-off semi-final first leg against Nottingham Forest. Furthermore, he was ruled out of the second-leg and the final, after the Swans won 3-1 on aggregate.
Premier League regular
Taylor was Swansea’s first choice left-back in their debut Premier League season. He had a good season in 2011/12 as the Swans finished in 11th place.
Injury
After a promising start to the 2012/13 campaign, Taylor broke his ankle in Swansea’s third game of the season. He was subsequently ruled out for the majority of the campaign. It was devastating for him.
Recovery
Taylor was back fit for the 2013/14 season, but couldn’t force his way straight back into the team with Ben Davies taking over the starting left-back spot. Davies was brilliant replacing Taylor when he was injured, and wasn’t going to be overtaken easily.
Europa League
Despite not being first-choice anymore, Taylor was lucky in the sense that Swansea were in the Europa League in 2013/14. Squad rotation was needed, so he did play in many of the Swans’ games in Europe.
First-choice again
With Ben Davies departing for Tottenham in the summer of 2014, Taylor was first-choice left-back again. With Garry Monk at the helm, the 27-year-old excelled in the Premiership last season as Swansea finished in 8th place.
The present
It’s been a steady season for Taylor. He’s had some good games, and a few bad ones, but he remains an important part of the club’s future.