Liverpool's Loss - United's Gain (and I don't mean Owen!)

Last updated : 05 October 2005 By Footy Mad - Editor

19-year-old Steven Taylor is currently on international duty with England under-21s as they prepare to take on Austria and Poland, and life couldn't be better for the Toon youngster.

Graeme Souness admits the thought of joining Liverpool, who have been tracking the kid since he was 16, would be an attraction too good for some to turn down. But this lad has only one club in mind, and he couldn't wait to sign another deal with his beloved Newcastle United

Souness said: "What can I say about Taylor? He's learning his trade at the highest level. And in my view he's going to be a top player at this club for a long, long time.

"He's a proper player, don't worry about him. The up-side about the performance on Saturday at Fratton Park is that we kept a clean sheet, and every single player who was out there gave me everything. On the day we didn't come up with the quality and imagination to cause Portsmouth too many problems, but we were dogged in our defending and deserved a point.

"They never let me down in terms of effort and I couldn't have asked for any more, and none more so than Taylor."