West Brom defender Caleb Taylor seals return loan to Wycombe

Taylor, who turned 22 this month, was recalled by the Baggies at the beginning of the month due to a shortage of options in the backline with Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi injured and Paddy McNair departed.

The academy graduate turned out just once for Albion upon his return, notably scoring the opener in the 5-1 FA Cup defeat at Bournemouth on January 11.

Towering centre-back Taylor has now been allowed to return to spend the remainder of the League One season with Wycombe, with whom he made 20 appearances prior to the recall.

Bartley and Ajayi have progressed in their recovery and the former was back in training for Tony Mowbray's men at the end of last week, with the potential of a return to contention at Plymouth on Saturday barring no setbacks.

Ajayi, meanwhile, has been sidelined since October with a hamstring injury which required surgery and had been forecast to return to training as early as next month, though March was given as a more reasonable time to be considered ready.

Former loanee McNair was on the periphery prior to an injury himself and returned to parent club San Diego in the MLS at the end of December.

Albion are believed to be content with their central defensive options in Torbjorn Heggem, Mason Holgate, Bartley and Ajayi. Taylor's return to Adams Park will not prompt a centre-back hunt in the remaining days of the transfer window, which shuts on Monday night.

Taylor, son of former Blues defender Martin, was a key cog in Wycombe's early storm of the third tier and now has the opportunity to help push the side over the line in the promotion hunt.

A loan at Wycombe was specifically chosen last summer so Albion could assess the prospect's ability to perform in a back four.

The second-placed Wanderers have a six point advantage over Wrexham in the automatic promotion stakes and only trail leaders Blues by two points. They head to lowly Cambridge on Saturday before an FA Cup tie against Preston, which Taylor will be ineligible for.

The promising defender, who is very well regarded at The Hawthorns, would not have been permitted a loan at any other club this season due to league rules that players can only feature for two clubs in a single campaign.

Baggies boss Mowbray told the Express & Star after Saturday's 5-1 win over Portsmouth he had looked to introduce Taylor as a second-half substitute to see how the central defender coped in Championship action, but a knock for Grady Diangana meant the head coach's hand was forced elsewhere.