(Photo by Jason Oxenham/Getty Images)
Prop forward Scott Taylor is to leave Wigan Warriors with immediate effect and will join fellow Super League side Salford Red Devils for an undisclosed fee.
Rumours around Taylor’s future had been rife for most of last season with reports coming out that the player and his partner were home sick and wanted to move back to Hull.So the decision to move just a few miles up the road to Salford will stick in the throat for some fans, although he may have made a deal that allows him to travel from Hull to Salford everyday.Speaking about the news, Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan said: “We can confirm that Scott is leaving the Wigan Club to join Salford Red Devils on a 12 months Contract as replacement for his final contracted year at Wigan.”We have been speaking with the player for several months after he made it clear that he wanted to leave, preferably a year earlier than contracted, to return to the Hull area for family reasons.”Scott has improved as a player under the Wigan system and is a good prop forward but his desire to be elsewhere has become, and remains, a significant distraction to team spirit and to his own performance.
“With Lee Mossop recently returning to the Club and an array of quality Prop Forwards now at our disposal, we are confident in the squad we have for the 2015 season. We have been able to negotiate a satisfactory transfer fee for a player who would otherwise have left for nothing in 12 months’ time.
“We have worked well with Marwan Koukash at Salford to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion to this difficult matter and wish Scott Taylor well.”Rugby General Manager Kris Radlinski added: “Scott originally expressed a desire to leave half way through last season because he and his partner missed their families and had struggled to settle in Wigan. I knew, through some deep subsequent conversations that he had his heart set on moving home as early as possible.
“Since squad planning at Wigan is medium and long-term, I had to put the Club first and secured Scott for 2015. However, I told him that if our position were to change then we would grant him an early release.
“Now, being in a strong position with the recruitment of Larne Patrick, Taulima Tautai and Lee Mossop and the return of James Greenwood, it was felt that the best thing for Wigan would be to allow Scott to leave.”