‘My Loan Spells Helped Me Grow Up And Develop...'

TAYLOR Moore is thriving in the Championship. Yet had things worked out differently, the Bristol City defender might be playing in the Champions League.

- Chris Dunlavy

Born in Essex but raised in France, the 22-year-old cut his teeth at RC Lens and made his Ligue 1 debut in May 2015.

Moore’s performance in that game - a hotly-contested derby against bitter rivals Lille - alerted scouts across the country and swiftly prompted a bid from Olympique Lyonnais.

According to Wikipedia, the proffered amount was €10m, which would have made Moore one of the most expensive 17-year olds in football history alongside luminaries like Alexandre Pato and Sergio Aguero. But was it true?

“Not exactly,” laughs Moore. “Lyon was very interested in taking me. They wanted to put me in the Under-23s and develop my game, gradually integrate me into the first team.

“It was obviously really attractive. Lens had a great academy, but Lyon was better. Unfortunately, the clubs couldn’t actually agree on a fee.

“Lyon had an initial bid turned down because Lens wanted a ridiculous amount of money considering what I’d done. I was 17 and had only played five games.

“They never came back in, and certainly not with that kind of offer. So while I would love to say somebody bid €10m for me, it never happened - whatever Wikipedia says.”

Moore’s time at Lens would end barely a year later, his value decimated by a season in the cold under unpopular manager Antoine Kombouaré and the club’s ailing finances.

When Bristol City offered £1.5m in August 2016, the club’s bean counters practically snapped their hands off.

“I’d been at Lens from the age of 12,” he says. “I came through all the academy ranks, was captain of the youth team and did fantastically well. Then I hit the first team, and nothing quite went as planned.

“There came a point when I had to kick-start things and that’s when the challenge of Bristol City presented itself.”