Greg Taylor’s contract situation at Celtic is the elephant in the room in the midst of a bright start for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions.
67 Hail Hail have covered his predicament at length, and Brendan Rodgers has previously cleared the air with Taylor’s agent about his reality at the club.
He stated: “He’s a fantastic player. How his career has went at Celtic, I’m really pleased for him. And someone that we would want to tie down for the longer term. So, hopefully, we can do that.”
Taylor has been a constant for Celtic over his five years at the club, registering eight goals and 27 assists in 178 appearances. Having spent a key part of his development in Glasgow, there is scope to imagine he may want to be brought closer in line to the club’s top earners.
What that would look like remains to be seen, but the radio silence surrounding a potential extension has been brought up by supporters in recent weeks.
Celtic and the culture of contract renewals amid Taylor latest
Celtic have maintained a good record of extending contracts for prize assets over recent years, whether it be to protect themselves in the market or to ensure key men don’t move elsewhere.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda are all players to have committed to new terms in the recent past. Matt O’Riley also done the same before leaving for Brighton & Hove Albion, enabling the Bhoys to earn a record £30 million sale during the summer.
There are few players more influential than Taylor in the Celtic dressing room. Carter-Vickers has highlighted the ‘vocal’ nature of the Scotland international internally, making him someone not worth losing with his deal now into its final year.
It makes sense to try and ensure Taylor follows this trend to build for the future with a core of players who are primed to deliver further success.
Sometimes, intangible qualities need to be factored into retaining players. The man in question is a competent left-back with a track record of playing his part in claiming trophies at Celtic, but his winning mentality and voice at the club are just as valuable.
Little news has become prevalent since Rodgers’ talks with Taylor’s agent. Hopefully, both parties are just biding their time to secure the best deal for all involved.
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