Former Derby County striker gives worrying verdict on £300k winger
Corey Blackett-Taylor joined Derby from Charlton for £300k in January
Derby County winger Corey Blackett-Taylor signed from Charlton Athletic for £300k in January.
It was the first time that the Rams have spent a lot of money on a player since Derby came out of administration.
However, the 26 year-old has struggled to hit the ground running so far, making just five appearances since moving to Pride Park.
He was on top form whilst at the Addicks before making the move to Derby. He scored eight goals and recorded seven assists in 25 appearances for Charlton this season.
Former Derby County striker Malcolm Christie set out his evaluation of Blackett-Taylor whilst speaking on BBC Radio Derby on Monday night.
He said: "Strange one this isn’t it. There was real positivity with that signing, a lot of Charlton fans were saying you’ve got a good one there.
"He is the type of player that might excite the fans, with pace and directness.
"We’ve seen hardly anything from him. Is he not up to speed, has he not impressed on the training ground, has he been carrying an injury that has suddenly come to light after the signing?"
Blackett-Taylor hasn't been able to get into the starting XI, making a few appearances from the bench. He came on in the Rams' last game against Port Vale on Saturday for 15 minutes but struggled to make a huge impact.
Christie added: "He came on and I saw a couple of glimpses of something, but I also saw a couple of almost horrible things that he did.
"I think he’s probably going to be a bit hit and miss and maybe Paul Warne has just not seen enough where he can trust him, that’s a big statement there because they’ve spent a bit of money on him."
Blackett-Taylor signed on a three year deal so is set to be at Pride Park for a long time. As things stand, he is still at the very start of his Rams career.
Christie did say that he thinks that Derby fans shouldn't write the winger off just yet. He added: "He might make us eat our words but the jury is out on him at the moment.
"I certainly don’t want to write the lad off because he’s not being given any opportunity to do that. Let’s see the real Corey Blackett-Taylor whatever or however that looks, to be judged on a run of games.
"Only Paul Warne and his coaching staff will know what the true answer to that."
Christie spent five years with the Rams scoring 30 goals in 116 games between 1998 and 2003.