Former Newcastle United midfielder Ryan Taylor is in discussions over a possible move to Belgian side Standard Liege, according to Sky Sports' Pete Graves. Taylor was released by the Magpies via a phonecall in which he was also asked to pass the phone over to Jonas Gutierrez, who had only returned after months out recovering from cancer, at the end of the 2014-15 season. Although he has spent the entirety of his career to date in England with Newcastle, Wigan Athletic and Tranmere Rovers, it looks as if the Liverpool-born midfielder could now be heading across to Belgium. https://twitter.com/PeteGravesSky/status/611890618080604160 In a tweet on Friday afternoon, Sky Sports' Pete Graves said:
"Former #nufc player Ryan Taylor in preliminary talks with Standard Liege about a move to Belgium."
A versatile right-back, right-winger or central-midfielder, Taylor signed for Newcastle in January 2009 as part of the deal that took Charles N'Zogbia to Wigan. An impressive performer during Newcastle's Championship-winning season in 2009-10, Taylor then suffered from a number of serious knee complaints over the following few seasons that severely limited his playing time. Returning during the 2014-15 season, Taylor had clearly been affected by his injuries and did not look anything like the solid performer of before. As well as scoring the derby winner against Sunderland from a free-kick in August 2011 - a goal which earned him the chant "Ryan Taylor, Over The Wall" - he made a total of 106 appearances for Newcastle, netting on 10 occasions. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.