Reported Celtic interest in Taylor seemed baffling, Hoops can do better

By John Reid

August 7, 2020

Celtic have been linked with a lot of players recently. That is no surprise, as the transfer window is up and running.

However, it was a bit baffling to see one player linked with the Hoops recently – free agent forward Lyle Taylor.

Sky Sports Scotland Twitter account reported that Celtic were in talks with the player.

However, it has been reported in the Scottish Sun that the player is not on Celtic’s radar when it comes to new signings.

Reported Celtic target Lyle Taylor in action for Charlton / (Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)

Should that be the case, then it must be considered a bit of a relief. After all, with no disrespect meant to the player, Celtic’s reported interest in the striker did seem a bit baffling.

No sell-on value

He is 30, and has little to no sell-on value. That does not fit into Celtic’s usual method of signing players, particularly strikers.

The Hoops can do better when it comes to signing a striker, a player like Stephen Fletcher, who has also been linked with the club, would arguably be a better signing. He is very experienced player who has played at a very high level, unlike Taylor.

However, when it comes to buying a striker, the Hoops should be aiming high. That is why the interest in Ivan Toney is so encouraging.

Reported Celtic target Ivan Toney / (Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)

He is only 24, and he is the type of player that once he has done a job for the club can be sold on for millions of pounds. That happened with Moussa Dembele and will presumably happen with Odsonne Edouard.

Duo will be discussing transfers

Neil Lennon and Nick Hammond will no doubt have been discussing Celtic’s moves for a striker for much of the summer. It would have been a real surprise to see Taylor emerge as the player that the club wanted to sign to add more firepower to the squad.

The move does not seem to be happening though, and Celtic can move on to a proper striking target.

In other news, some Celtic fans reacted to a Chris Sutton comment