Charlton Athletic are delighted to welcome Lyle Taylor to The Valley as Lee Bowyer’s first signing of the summer.
The highly-rated striker arrives in SE7 as a free agent on a two-year deal with his contract with former club AFC Wimbledon having come to an end.
28-year-old Taylor scored 55 goals over three seasons for the Dons, helping them to promotion from League Two in 2016, scoring one of the goals which defeated Plymouth Argyle in the play-off final at Wembley.
He proved to be a thorn in the Addicks’ side last season, putting in two hugely impressive performances and scoring three goals – a brace in our FA Cup loss at the Cherry Red Records Stadium in December and the decisive goal in a 1-0 away defeat in April.
Speaking to Valley Pass shortly after completing his move, Taylor said: “I’m really looking forward to getting started and seeing where we can go this year.
“It’s going to be a challenge, this is a difficult league, but we’re going to do everything we can to get out of it.
“I’ll fight and scrap and do everything I can to get points for the team. My job is to put the ball in the back of the net, but if it means I’ll have to throw my weight around, I will do whatever is necessary.”
Bowyer, meanwhile, was delighted to complete the move for his number one target: “He’s my first signing as a manager and what a signing it is. He was our main target in the summer.
“He obviously had interest from other clubs. There was a big club in our division that made him a much better offer and I think it just shows the lad’s attitude to come to us. His decision to come was based on football, simple as that, and I think that shows where we are as a club and the stature we’ve got.”
“He’s a top striker in this division,” he added.
“He scores goals. He’s the all-around striker. He runs in behind, holds the ball up, wins his headers. He’s got everything. For him to bring the goals with the chances we are creating, I’m expecting big things from him and I’m sure he is himself.”
Born in Greenwich, Taylor grew up in New Cross and began his career at Millwall before joining non-League outfit Concord Rangers in 2009. 34 goals in 42 league games prompted AFC Bournemouth to secure his signature in 2011 where he played alongside new teammate Jason Pearce.
His career later took him to Falkirk, Sheffield United, Partick Thistle and Scunthorpe United prior to his move to Wimbledon in 2015.
Supporters will be able to watch Taylor’s first interview as a Charlton player in full, exclusively on Valley Pass on Wednesday evening.
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