One important thing to remember is Taylor was clearly happy to take the opportunity to move on at this point.
I expect, he would have only gone to Vale with Clarke being the manager and to play with again one of his best pals/strike partners across his career in Ellis Harrison.
The suggestion on the grapevine was that he was told there was no certainty on a contract for next season and that his gametime would be decreased in the final 18 games, with the other options that have come in and the expectancy that the injured players will be back for selection to impact on a reasonable number of the remaining games. And if he wanted more regular game time, then it would need to be elsewhere.
I do wonder if he or his agent put a little nudge into Darrell Clarke to see if there was any chance that Vale could create a deal that works for everyone.
What we do in the summer if he goes and scores a few goals now will be interesting.
Though this does feel quite final and if he does well at Vale, I'd fully expect him to take a contract there, probably a 2 year on less money than we pay.
I couldn't see us offering more than a 1 year with an option anyway and based on his season so far - that would be completely understandable.
It feels like the classic example of someone having the opportunity for a new chapter, and the fact it can be with a manager who he did so well under before, it's pretty ideal for Taylor.
I already can't be bothered with having to read about what a wrong decision it was after he's bagged a few this month.