NEWCASTLE United defender Steven Taylor has been included in the provisional Great Britain squad for the London 2012 Olympics.

Taylor’s inclusion in the list of around 80 players who have been put on standby for the Games is something of a surprise given his lack of football this season but, despite going seven months without a game, he is in the thinking of Team GB boss Stuart Pearce.

Taylor (pictured right) received a letter in January telling him he was one of the names under consideration but he then made it through a further cull in the spring to potentially put GB on a collision course with Newcastle, who would prefer him to complete his recover from injury at St James’ Park.

Pearce will whittle down his squad to 23 in the next few weeks – although he does not have to finalise the squad until mid-July, by which time Taylor should be available.

But whether Newcastle will want one of their star assets playing a part in London 2012 is another matter, and United are sure to enter into negotiations with Pearce over Taylor’s fitness.

United are already braced to lose one of their Senegalese strikers for the duration of the Games, with Alan Pardew having said he will not stand in the way of Demba Ba or Papiss Demba Cissé competing in the tournament if they are picked.