Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston has had his say on Greg Taylor’s looming Hoops exit.
Taylor’s current Celtic deal is set to expire in the summer, with Kieran Tierney set to re-join the Hoops. Tierney’s return has seemingly led to a breakdown in negotiations between the club and Taylor.
Tierney’s pre-contract has been in the making for a while, meaning that when a deal for a new contract has been put on the table, it has been done so with the idea that the Arsenal defender will join this summer.
Taylor feels that the offer is not worth his current value. Having joined Celtic in the summer of 2019, he has consistently been the Hoops’ number one left-back, winning 4 Scottish Premiership titles, 3 Scottish Cups, and 3 Scottish League Cups in that time.
However, Dinamo Zagreb are seemingly leading the race for Taylor, with negotiations over a pre-contract reportedly progressing well between the two.
Johnston was quick to, however, highlight how much Taylor’s departure may negatively affect Celtic in some ways.
He said: (RecordSport), “I won’t speak for him, but it must be difficult knowing KT’s coming in the summer.
“Greg’s someone who often gets overlooked but who helps us do so much with his ability to come inside and impact the play. If this is his last year, he’ll be seriously missed on and off the pitch.
“But you can understand that he wants to play every week and with Kieran coming back that’s maybe not going to happen. Whatever happens, though, he’ll always give his best for the club, and we should back him for that.”
Taylor and Tierney would certainly be a great battle for a place in the starting XI. However, the longer Taylor does not sign a new deal, the less likely it looks that he will stay, and Johnston feels that since he joined in January 2023, Taylor has clearly had a positive effect on his teammate.
Taylor will be missed if he leaves. He’s not always the most spectacular, but his consistency is among the best in the Celtic squad.
For so long, Taylor has operated at an impressive level, and if he does join another team, he will leave with everyone’s best wishes after an unbelievably successful six years come the summer.
