Greg Taylor faces Celtic crossroads under Brendan Rodgers

Since his arrival in 2019, Greg Taylor has been a player that has had his fair share of ups and downs at Celtic.

Following consistently good form at Kilmarnock under Steve Clarke, he was signed by Neil Lennon on deadline day just under four years ago. This was in order to fill the gaping hole left by Kieran Tierney, who had just joined Arsenal in a record move for the club. His arrival was the second left-back to be signed that window, following Boli Bolingoli’s move to the club from Rapid Vienna.

Indeed, it was the Belgian defender that was the preferred option in the position under Lennon, despite some less-than-convincing performances from him. As a result of this, Taylor only made 16 appearances, though he was installed as the preferred left-back until the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The following campaign was a poor one personally for Taylor, as well as the club, though he did play in more games than the previous campaign, with 32 appearances in all competitions. He competed with AC Milan loanee Diego Laxalt for the left-back jersey, with the Uruguay international making 28 appearances.

Taylor’s future was uncertain at Celtic when Ange Postecoglou was announced as Lennon’s replacement, with the new boss keen to implement a fresh style of play as well as inevitably drafting in new recruits to shape his own team. Taylor had to adapt or perish.

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However, this uncertainly was put to bed relatively quickly when Taylor became the undisputed first-choice left-back under the Australian. This was further underlined when he signed a new deal at the club in November 2021, illustrating the manager’s faith in the player to make the style change.

Over the past two seasons, Taylor has been a mainstay in the Celtic side. 78 appearances under Postecoglou proves that. This figure would have been higher if not for a shoulder injury in the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign.

The court of public opinion is certainly more in favour of him than it was just a few years ago, with Taylor now a firm starter in the minds of many. He even has become a bit of a threat in front of goal, as last season he managed three goals in what was a fruitful season.

Once again, though, Taylor finds himself at a bit of a crossroads in his career, all down to the impending arrival of Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager. Having joined the club in September 2019, this will be Taylor’s first experience playing under the Northern Irishman.

This is assuming that Rodgers will play the way he did four years ago when he was first in charge of the side, operating a 4-2-3-1 formation. Celtic’s full-backs were given the freedom to roam forward and deliver crosses into the box, offering their services as attackers when necessary in order to create and sometimes score goals.

Typically, larger and more robust players such as Tierney and Mikael Lustig occupied the wings under Rodgers. These are physical traits that Taylor lacks. The lack of players like this on the left-hand side may prompt Rodgers to dip into the transfer market.

Taylor’s previous role under Postecoglou was a unique one due to the inverted position the manager wanted his full-backs to adapt to. With this, Taylor and his right-back equivalent were effectively midfielders when the team was in possession in order to overwhelm the opposition in the middle of the park.

Postecoglou at Celtic is no more, and Taylor will have to adjust as a result of this. Rodgers’ usual style is a more traditional way of setting up full-backs, which may hinder the player as a result.

With that being said, Rodgers may elect to change up his formation to better accommodate those at the club. He flirted with the idea of playing inverted full-backs down at Leicester last season, though Ricardo Pereira’s injury put an end to that just before the start of the campaign.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the board has elected to return for Rodgers is because of his openness to playing this way. If he could influence the same system that Postecoglou played with in terms of the full-backs, then Taylor may very well remain first choice next season.

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That is not to say that Taylor will not be up to this incoming challenge from the new manager – in fact, far from it. The commitment he has shown to establish himself in Celtic’s first-team squad has been admirable. Even last season, following the big-money signing of Alexandro Bernabei from Lanus, Taylor was the undoubted first choice on the left.

At 25 years old, he is coming off the back of the best season of his career so far. With his contract expiring in the summer of 2025, the player is in a strong position.

It will be up to Rodgers to decide how prominent a role Taylor plays next season when he clarifies how the team is going to be set up.

This piece is an extract from the latest Celtic Digest newsletter, which is emailed out every weekday evening with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from The Celtic Way team.

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