Manchester-born Lake - an incredibly versatile midfielder who would also operate both in defence and attack - made over 100 appearances for the Citizens before an injury cruelly cut his career short. While some supporters of the Manchester club may wonder what could have been in Lake's career, the impact he made on Taggart's career, and the sparkling nature of his performances, left their mark on the Northern Irishman.
Lake was part of the Man City side which won promotion to the old First Division in 1989 - just three years after he'd tasted success as a youngster by lifting the FA Youth Cup.
A descendant of George Lake, a star for the Eastlands club's first team before the First World War, Paul grew up idolising the likes of Joe Royle and Brian Kidd while attending matches as a child.
After being offered a senior debut by Jimmy Frizzell in 1987, Lake scored on his first home appearances in a 1-1 draw with Luton Town before also featuring in a 10-0 success over Huddersfield Town.
In 1989, he recovered from a serious injury sustained at Leicester City, which caused genuine alarm for his wellbeing, to become a prominent player in Manchester City's promotion-winning side.
His hometown club finished second in 1988/89 with Lake appearing at one point or another in every outfield position - endearing him to a whole generation of supporters at Maine Road.
"Whenever I think of Manchester City, I think of one person and that person is Paul Lake," Taggart said, reflecting on his own time as an academy hopeful at Manchester City.
"Obviously, Manchester City was my first club and I had the pleasure of playing alongside Paul. At the time, he was a very versatile player, an all-round player who played in various positions.
"He was a class act. He played for England and bigger clubs were always looking at him, but he loved playing for Manchester City. It was just unfortunate that he had issues with his knees.
"In the end, it finished his career early, but I was able to watch him in training and in games and he was just head and shoulders above everyone else.
"He was a key player for Manchester City when they won promotion from the old Second Division."
Lake's versatility saw him used in an array of positions by managers Jimmy Frizzell, Mel Machin and Howard Kendall, who appointed him as club captain upon Paul signing a five-year contract.
An ACL injury in 1991, though, would ultimately prove to end his promising career, despite new manager Peter Reid describing him as being like 'a new £3M signing' upon one of several false dawns a year later.
Despite the heartache associated with the end of his career, Lake was so admired by all at Manchester City that the club offered him a testimonial - against Manchester United in 1997 - and inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2004.
Following retirement, Lake worked, fittingly, as a physio at the club he had supported his whole life, famously helping Richard Edghill recover from the same injury which he'd suffered as a player.
"His favourite position was probably in midfield, but he played centre-back, full-back, right wing, centre forward, he could play everywhere because he was so athletic," Taggart added.
"Paul’s technical ability was right up there as well. He had everything, basically, and he’s the first player that springs to my mind whenever I think of Manchester City.
"Obviously, they’ve got a host of quality players at the minute, but if you go back to that time in their history, there were few better than Paul.
"It was a great club for bringing young players on and getting them through the system and he was the one that always stood out for me whenever you watched Manchester City.
"He was two or three years older than me and, by the time he was 21, he was absolutely flying. Tragically, his knees ended his career early, otherwise he would have gone on to big things.
"I’m sure to a certain generation of Manchester City fans, though, they will remember Paul as fondly as I do and know just how good he really was when he was able to play."