Taylor, a former defender who has been at Thorp Arch for five years, moved into the loans manager role after completing a master’s degree in sporting directorship.
“The development loan, to come back to us, like Harry Gray going out, is where the focus is very much to go and get games in a first-team environment to ultimately come back to our first team squad,” Taylor told Leeds United’s official website.
A second category covers senior players who need to move on, with loans potentially creating squad space or helping increase a player’s value. Taylor cited Joe Gelhardt’s loan last season as an example.
The third is a “transition loan”, designed to expose young players to men’s football before they are ready for a senior role at Leeds.
“Sometimes you're giving them a loan to try and increase the value for a return on an investment, or you're just giving them a chance to go and get exposure,” he said. “They go out and get men's football and it's gaining traction.”
Taylor said players must have a meaningful say in choosing a destination, with the club and the people around them involved in discussions. The process can involve the first-team manager, academy staff, agents and families, with plans sometimes changing when a suitable opportunity arises.
Charlie Crew is currently gaining experience at Walsall, while Harry Gray is on loan at Sheffield Wednesday after spending last season with Rotherham United in League One.
Taylor said Gray had options and met with managers from four clubs before deciding on Wednesday. The Championship side offered a demanding environment, with the scale of the club and expectations around it providing a useful test for a player being prepared for the Premier League.
“We felt it might be the bottom end of the Championship,” Taylor said of the alternative options. “Our question was 'how do we go and give Harry Gray the best possible platform to go and be successful at what he's really good at, which is in the final third?'”
He also explained that Wednesday’s local proximity meant Gray could continue his education at the Leeds academy while remaining close to home. That was particularly important during his earlier loan to Rotherham, when he was still 17.
Leeds monitor loanees through data and regular contact, while giving them space to adapt. Taylor said the club’s responsibility is to create opportunities at different levels, including non-league football, where youngsters can experience the physical and competitive demands of the senior game.
He pointed to academy player Jacob Watson’s spell at Stockton Town as an example of a young player benefiting from that exposure.
“The biggest factor in people having a career at whatever level is opportunity,” Taylor said. “Because if they don't get an opportunity, they'll never have a career.”