Ipswich Town yesterday completed the signing of Jack Taylor from Peterborough United. Stuart Watson profiles the 25-year-old midfielder.
BROTHERS AT BARNET
Jack and his older brother Harry were released by Chelsea in 2012 aged 14 and 15 respectively. They both subsequently joined Barnet’s academy (who were managed by Dutch legend Edgar Davids at the time).
Jack made his senior debut for the Bees as a 15-year-old when he came on as sub in a 3–1 Herts Senior Cup win over Hatfield Town. His first appearance as a professional came aged 18 in a 5-0 EFL Trophy defeat against Norwich City U23s.
Despite the scoreline, manager Martin ‘Mad Dog’ Allen enthused: “Young Jack Taylor was an outstanding player in our team tonight.”
A six-game loan spell at National League South side Hampton & Richmond Borough followed. Taylor was recalled in December, Rossi Eames and Henry Newman having now replaced Allen in the hotseat, and made his League Two debut in a 1-0 win at Yeovil.
That was the first of a seven-game run of starts. Such was the manner in which he took to senior football, West Ham and Southampton were linked to him in the January window.
A hernia injury sidelined Taylor for the next two months, but he returned in time to start the last five matches. Barnet won 14 league games that season on the way to a 15th place finish in the fourth-tier. Taylor had started in six of them.
#OnThisDay in 2017 The #Bees secured a 1-0 win over Luton Town thanks to a stunning strike late on from @jackootaylor!#BarnetFC 🐝https://t.co/8065ew16b8
— Barnet FC 🐝 (@BarnetFC) August 12, 2021
The North London club had four different managers the following season: Eames, Mark McGhee, notorious hard task-master Graham Westley and the returning Allen.
Taylor was sent off in stoppage-time of an opening day 2-2 draw at Forest Green for a second booking. He scored a last minute winner against Luton on his return to the team a week later. That fine strike from outside the box would soon become his party piece.
There were 31 starts for Taylor that season (but only two from February onwards) as Barnet finished 23rd to slip out of the Football League.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Barnet finished 12th in their first season back down in the National League. Taylor worked under two more managers in John Still and former Ipswich winger Darren Currie.
At the start of the following campaign, Taylor marked is 100th appearance for the club by netting a lovely curling effort in 2-2 draw with Chesterfield.
“Obviously at such a young age, I’ve hit a good landmark,” said the newly turned 21-year-old.
“I see myself as one of the experienced ones now because you’ve got boys in there that are probably older than me but haven’t made as many appearances, so I do take control.”
Come January 4, the confident midfielder already had nine goals to his name...
PICKED UP BY POSH
Promotion-chasing League One side Peterborough United announced on January 7, 2020 that they had signed Taylor for a fee of £500k which had the potential to rise to £1m.
Manager Darren Ferguson said: “Jack is a player that I have known for years. I tried to sign him for my previous club (Doncaster), but it didn’t get done. It is a big signing for us. The boy is absolutely ready for this step-up.
“He can play in a variety of positions, a variety of formations, has a really good passing range, can score goals from midfield and plays off both feet.”
Taylor’s sixth game in a Peterborough shirt was a 4-1 win at Portman Road on February 1, 2020.
He hit the ground running at London Road, providing two goals and two assists in 11 games before the season was halted due to Covid.
Posh were cruelly denied a play-off spot on the points-per-game method of determining final placings. Chairman Darragh MacAnthony soon spoke about ‘Operation Vengeance’. 
INJURY FRUSTRATIONS
A hamstring injury sustained in the final match before the Covid call-off would have sidelined Taylor for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.
He was fit to start the delayed 2020/21 season, but a brilliant goal that sealed a 3-0 win at Plymouth in February 2021 was followed by hamstring issues flaring up again in the following match against Wigan. It sidelined Taylor for the majority of March and Peterborough lost three out of six in his absence.
“Losing Jack is quite a blow for us,” admitted Ferguson. “Something similar happened last season so we will have to dig deeper into the injury to make sure it’s not something that’s going to keep recurring.”
Taylor returned to start seven games on the spin, but then sat out the season finale.
Peterborough secured automatic promotion. Taylor had provided seven goals and three assists across 39 starts and one sub appearance.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Taylor limped out of a friendly defeat at Portsmouth (hamstring again) and didn’t start the first eight games of the 2021/22 season.
He scored a superb long-range goal in a 2-1 win at Hull in October – that first-time effort later named the club’s Goal of the Season – but hamstring issues resurfaced towards the end of January and he sat out the next 10 games.
Taylor’s return to the team coincided with an upturn in results. He scored in 2-0 win at Barnsley and then wrapped up a final day 5-0 home win against Blackpool with another stunning strike.
Peterborough were relegated, but MacAnthony declared his club to have ‘the best central midfielder in League One’ ahead of 2022/23.
KICKING ON
After a 3-2 win at MK Dons last October, Peterborough boss Grant McCann enthused: “In the last two games, he (Taylor) has been exceptional; his performances have gone through the roof. The way he is controlling games, the way he’s been getting forward and his shooting make him a really top player.
“For him now, it’s just about keeping his foot on the pedal and keeping that consistency.”
McCann was sacked in early January, with Ferguson returning. Peterborough knocked back three bids from Ipswich for Taylor, with MacAnthony promising him he would do the deal in the summer.
After a 3-0 win at Lincoln in March, in which Taylor scored the second, the midfielder said: “Getting into the box is a massive part of my game, especially for crosses and getting on the end of things to try and get goals and assists.
“I’ve always wanted to just get better and playing under him (Ferguson) I do play my best football, we work well together.
"He knows what I can bring to the team and I feed off that. I’m delighted with how it’s going.”
Come April, Taylor scored at Shrewsbury after making a late dash to game following the birth of his first child.
“It’s been the best week of my life,” he said. “My baby boy came at 5:26am on Wednesday. My Mrs has been through hell and back. We were in since Monday morning. I’m delighted I’ve scored for him today.
"I said to myself at the start of the season, no matter how it goes, just stay injury free because I wasn’t happy last year.
"I don’t know whether my body was still growing, but I have worked really hard off the pitch and I’m delighted with my form, especially coming into the business end of the season.”
Taylor scored on final day of the regular season to seal a 2-0 win at Barnsley and secure Peterborough sixth spot. He then bagged the opener in a 4-0 home win against Sheffield Wednesday in the first leg of the play-offs.
A dramatic second leg collapse followed. Taylor, having provided 10 goals and six assists, made it clear he was ready for a new challenge at Portman Road and a deal was eventually thrashed out.
Having turned 25 last week, the midfielder insists he is ready to make his mark with the Blues.
INTERNATIONAL HOPES
Hammersmith-born Taylor has a grandfather that hails from County Longford in Ireland.
As a result, he was called up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the 2019 Toulon Tournament and subsequently made seven appearances for the team.
He received his first senior call-up in November 2020 for a UEFA Nations League match against Bulgaria but did not get on the field.
He was named in the squad for a training camp in Turkey at the start of this month and was an unused sub for the two recent European Championship qualifying fixtures against Greece and Gibraltar.
“It’s tough being in League One and getting picked for the Ireland squad," he said, after signing for Ipswich.
"Hopefully this move will boost my chances of finally making my first international cap."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here