Greg Taylor

End of season review time for the left-backs focusing on the soon-to-be leaving Greg Taylor.

It is looking likely that Greg Taylor will complete an end-of-contract transfer to Greece, joining PAOK in sunny Salonika with his young family.

Taylor was a relatively unheralded signing from Kilmarnock in July 2019, initially on a four-year contract extended to 2025 in 2021.

He was back up to Boli Bolingoli (yep) during Neil Lennon’s successful campaign, but by the disastrous COVID-19 season had established himself as Celtic’s first-choice left-back.

He has gradually become more and more indispensable during this period, only falling off in playing minutes this last season as both Alex Valle and Jeffrey Schlupp were recruited to challenge his position.

At 27 years old, it seems that whilst Brendan Rodgers has declared he wants to keep Taylor, and Taylor appears reluctant to leave, the looming arrival of Kieran Tierney suggests Taylor would see another dip in playing time next season.

Not only is his next contract likely and potentially the largest of his career, but at this age, he is coming into his peak as a player. Taylor must consider the long-term security of his family and career.

And so, a parting of the ways seems likely. In purely business terms, Celtic likely do not want to commit precious squad allocation pounds to a backup left-back to the value Taylor deserves.

This is a post-season review, so here’s my final word on Taylor in all likelihood.

The reference point for comparison will be the myriad of other left-backs he has “seen off” during his five seasons at the club.