He made his debut the following day, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute for Cristian Montaño in a 1–0 win over Cambridge United at Vale Park.[8] He later said that "I knew it would be physical but I think I have dealt with that quite well. Probably the speed of the game has surprised me."[4] On 24 September, he scored his first goal in senior football in a 3–2 victory at Macclesfield Town in the EFL Trophy.[9] He scored his first league goal four days later, bending the ball into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area in a 3–3 draw at Leyton Orient.[10] On 2 November, he scored the only goal of the game at local rivals Crewe Alexandra.[11] He picked up an injury early in January, but nevertheless had his loan spell extended until the end of the 2019–20 season.[12] The loan deal was extended after Forest rebuffed two transfer bids from the Vale.[13] However, he was unable to add to his tally of seven goals in 25 appearances as the league was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[14]
On 1 October 2020, Taylor joined League Two club Scunthorpe United on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[15][16] Taylor was recalled from his loan at Glanford Park in January, having made 14 appearances for Neil Cox's "Iron".[17]
Port Vale
On 11 January 2021, Taylor signed a permanent deal with Port Vale on a three-and-a-half-year deal.[18] Rather than pay Nottingham Forest a transfer fee, the club agreed to a large sell-on clause.[19] New manager Darrell Clarke dropped Taylor from the starting line-up after saying he needed to "add that bit of steel to his game", though added that "I see him having a bright future".[20] He was sidelined with injury in early April, having scored once from 13 appearances for the club in the second half of the 2020–21 season.[21] His agent, Phil Sproson, commented that "he has to have a good pre-season and then see what develops... he just needs to recapture the form he had when he first came on loan".[22]
He missed the pre-season and the start of the 2021–22 regular season with a thigh injury.[23] He made 11 appearances before a reoccurrence of a quad injury saw ruled out of action "for a substantial time" in January.[24] He returned to action on 15 April, earning praise from interim managerAndy Crosby for his performance after coming on as a 55th-minute substitute in a 1–0 win at Hartlepool United.[25] He started in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium as Vale secured promotion with a 3–0 victory over Mansfield Town; Michael Baggaley of The Sentinel wrote that "[Taylor] used the ball well, spreading play with some pin-point crossfield passes".[26][27]
Morecambe
He was reportedly a target of Morecambe in June 2022, with manager Derek Adams looking to sign him on a "bargain deal" to replace the departed Aaron Wildig.[28][29] The transfer was confirmed on 8 July, with Morecambe paying an undisclosed fee and Taylor signing a two-year deal and stating that "I just wanted to go to a club where I felt wanted, play regularly and express myself".[30] He missed two months of the season after picking up a muscle injury against Accrington Stanley at the start of October.[31] He made fifteen starts and twelve substitute appearances throughout the 2022–23 campaign as Morecambe were relegated out of League One.[32] He played 32 games in the 2023–24 campaign, scoring one goal, and was not retained at the end of his contract.[33][34]
Style of play
Taylor describes himself as a "ball-playing midfielder", though can also play at left-back.[35]
