Manchester City Linked With Newcastle United's Steven Taylor: Why?

Manchester City has shown us in recent seasons that they have the money to sign the world's best players and pay them as much as they want.

So, waking up to rumours linking them with a move for injury plagued Newcastle defender Steven Taylor left me dumbfounded.

Why would a club, who could sign anyone in the world, want a defender who is far from guranteed a starting place in the Newcastle United 11?

There was a time when Taylor was seen as a future Newcastle captain and was at the heart of United's defence, but now he finds himself transfer listed by the club and struggling to gain much sympathy from United fans over his contractual problems.

Understandable, if what we are told was true—Taylor was demanding £60,000 per week and the club refused to offer more than £40,000.

Managing only 21 starts in the Championship, his importance within the United team has slid downward, especially with the recent form of Mike Williamson and Fabriccio Coloccini.

Taylor, also somewhat surprisingly, failed to gain much fan support following his altercation with United forward Andy Carroll towards the end of last season.

Could I see Taylor getting into the City side ahead of Kolo Toure, Joleon Lescott, Michah Richards and Vincent Kompany?

It's hard to imagine him breaking into that side where so many have already failed—the move just leaves me confused.

I would be amazed if any deal were to happen. It is more likely Taylor could find himself heading to Everton, Celtic or Aston Villa before City comes calling.