The Bears were first linked with the 30-year-old in January, with the striker’s contract expiring this summer. However, since then, the Montserrat international has told the Addicks that he won’t play for the club again despite the English Championship expected to restart before the end of June.
McCoist feels manager Steven Gerrard and his staff must do background research on Taylor’s character before approaching the player with an offer:
“You’d certainly have a think. Absolutely, I don’t care what anybody says, if I was a manager, first thing you do is your homework and your due diligence on players you are signing.”
“You clearly know about them as a player, your scouts will have watched them, and understandably you want to find out what type of person they are in the dressing room.”
“What kind of influence they will have in the dressing room. I’m not saying, let’s get this straight, that he’s a bad influence in the dressing room, clearly, he won’t be, but you would (dig a little deeper).”
Charlton boss Lee Bowyer has already stated that Taylor is well within his rights to refuse to play if he feels he will jeopardise a move away from the Valley.
However, as McCoist also points out, he is effectively contracted to Charlton until the end of the month so he should be available to play during that time.
Whether Rangers will opt to make a move for Taylor, it remains to be seen. He does have a good record in front of goal this season, having scored 11 goals in 22 league appearances.
