West Brom defender Caleb Taylor will be on his toes to take chance

Central defender Taylor, 20, is highly-regarded at The Hawthorns and kicked on after a successful loan spell in League One with Cheltenham Town last season.

Albion will decide where the rangy stopper will spend his campaign this season, though with space vacated by Dara O’Shea in defence, Taylor could be an ideal option to make up the matchday ranks.

“I’m just going to try my best,” vowed Taylor, who has been a regular in pre-season. “There is nothing I can do except give my best to give the impression that I am there and ready, and that he can trust me. That’s all I want to do. We’ll see what happens going into the new season, but hopefully I can stay and play a big part of the season.”

Boss Carlos Corberan has Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley, Cedric Kipre and the versatile Erik Pieters as centre-back candidates.

“Any opportunity I’m there to take it,” added Taylor, who played in 45 of 46 league games for the Robins. “That is why I’m going to work so hard so that when it comes, I’m ready.”

The defender added of talks with Corberan: “I came in and we had a little talk at the end of last season, and then this pre-season I’ve been talking to him regularly.”

First-team coach Michael Hefele, the German who played Premier League football with Huddersfield, has worked one-on-one with Taylor.

“The coaches have been great,” added the youngster. “He has been helping me a lot, obviously he was a centre back in the Premier League so he’s taken a lot of interest in me. We’ve sat down and done a lot of analysis and he’s helping me to improve my game.”