Emilio Izaguirre’s likely departure from Celtic this summer means finding a replacement for Kieran Tierney has just become a top priority. The Honduran has his heart set on a move to the MLS meaning that Celtic will be down to just one first team left-back shortly.
Tierney has been far from reliable this season, playing time wise. The Scotland international has been plagued by a number of injuries and will undergo double hernia surgery in the summer.
A signing that makes sense
Celtic may have scoured the depths of the globe to find Izaguirre but they don’t need to look as far for the next big thing. Kilmarnock’s Greg Taylor has been one of the key reasons for the Rugby Park side’s remarkable season. He’s been a consistent performer and played in all but two of their league matches this season.
Taylor already has well over 100 top-flight games for the Ayrshire side and is actually five months younger than Tierney. He’s contracted at Kilmarnock until 2021 but would probably be available for a couple of hundred thousand pounds this summer.
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A succession plan
Tierney is likely to move on at some stage so it make sense to plan for the future. Signing Taylor wouldn’t cost much. He could play second fiddle at first, filling in on occasion to take the heat of Tierney. Once the Celtic favourite is moved on, Taylor should be in a position to take over the role and become our new first-choice left-back.
Having a succession plan means that the team isn’t harmed when a key member moves on. Celtic didn’t feel the full impact of Moussa Dembele leaving because Odsonne Edouard was waiting in the wings.
It is important that we keep that strategy in order to maximise our ability and avoid being ripped off in the transfer market.