St Mirren youngster credits former Irish League forward for role in his development ahead of Ballymena United move

The 20-year-old attacker has progressed through the youth ranks at the Paisley outfit and made three Scottish Premiership appearances for Stephen Robinson’s side last season, including coming off the bench in their March defeat to eventual champions Celtic.

It has been a busy summer window for new Sky Blues boss Jim Ervin as he continues to rebuild with Taylor joining Colin Coates, Johnny McMurray, Alex Gawne, Donal Rocks, Fiontan O’Boyle, TJ Murray, Marc Walsh and Sam Johnston as new arrivals at the Showgrounds.

Taylor also credited the role of former Cliftonville and Crusaders forward Diarmuid O'Carroll, who serves as assistant manager to Lisburn-born Robinson at St Mirren, for the role he has played in his development.

"I'm delighted,” said Taylor, who agreed a contract extension until 2025 before penning his loan move. “It gives me another year to develop into the St Mirren first team player I want to be.

"Hopefully, when I go on loan, I play a lot of minutes at a good standard and it'll make me a better player with more experience to come back ready for the first team.

"The manager, Diarmuid and all the coaching staff have helped me develop a lot in terms of the physical and technical side of the game."

Elsewhere, Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake have confirmed they are loaning 19-year-old defender Jaziel Orozco to reigning Premiership champions Larne for the 2023/24 season.

He has made five MLS appearances during his young career after progressing through the Real Salt Lake academy and has spent the current season to date on loan at Mexican outfit Santos Laguna playing for their U23 team.

Orozco, who can also play as a defensive midfielder, has previously starred for Real Monarchs – an affiliate side of Real Salt Lake – in the USL Championship and MLS Next Pro.

He has been called up to the USA U20 national team and joins Craig Farquhar, Ali Omar, Corey Smith, Isaac Westendorf, Aidan Dowling and Levi Ives as new arrivals with Larne opening their title defence against Dungannon Swifts on Monday evening.