Kenneth Taylor's Impact in Lazio's 6-3 Victory Over Avellino
Kenneth Taylor needed only one touch to answer a week’s worth of noise.
Days after being marched off the training pitch by an irate Gennaro Gattuso, the Dutch midfielder stepped off the bench and onto the scoresheet in Lazio’s wild 6-3 friendly win over Avellino, turning an awkward subplot into a statement.
From training flashpoint to friendly flourish
On Thursday, Radio Laziale cameras caught the flashpoint that lit up Lazio’s pre-season. Gattuso, visibly furious, ordered Taylor away from the session, sending him down the tunnel and straight into the headlines. No one around the club has publicly detailed what sparked the clash, only that tempers flared and voices were raised.
The response from Taylor’s camp came quickly. Agent Guido Albers moved to cool things down, describing the incident to De Telegraaf as “merely a storm in a teacup” and stressing that Gattuso actually appreciates Taylor’s personality and his edge on the pitch. In other words: confrontation, yes; crisis, no.
Saturday in Rome suggested as much.
Introduced after the break against Avellino, Taylor didn’t sulk, didn’t hide, and didn’t play it safe. Instead, he finished the game. Literally. With Lazio already in control of a goal-laden contest, he seized on a defensive mistake, read the moment quicker than anyone else, and tucked away a composed finish to make it 6-3. One chance, one clean reminder of his quality.
The celebration was not wild, but the symbolism was obvious. A training-ground row, followed by a goal that closed out the match. The timing could hardly have been sharper.
Future still in the balance
For all that neat narrative symmetry, Italy remains unconvinced that Taylor’s long-term future runs through Rome. Reports continue to link the 22-year-old with interest from the Premier League, a market that has monitored him since his Ajax days and rarely ignores a technically gifted midfielder entering his prime years.
Lazio only brought him in from Ajax in January, paying just under €17 million for a player they believed could grow into a cornerstone of their midfield. In his first half-season in Serie A, Taylor delivered a solid return: 21 appearances, 3 goals, 2 assists, and a sense that he was still only scratching the surface of what he might become in a new league and a more tactical environment.
He is tied to the club until mid-2030, a long contract that gives Lazio control and leverage at a time when his name is starting to circulate again. Keep him and build around his energy and bite? Or cash in if English clubs come calling with serious money?
For now, the only clear verdict came on the pitch. Gattuso barked on Thursday, Taylor answered on Saturday. Pre-season spats come and go at big clubs; what lingers is who can turn the noise into performances.
Taylor has offered his reply. The next move belongs to Lazio – and to any Premier League side willing to test how much that storm in a teacup really changed.
