Greg Taylor

A season ticket holder with Rangers might have "interesting" comments in case of a Rangers win.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49537266

Deal near completion.

 

Because to see he’s said * the pope in any tweets.

 

More or less done then, seems to be a bit of a split decision from fans on twitter. Some wanted Taylor over Meling others wanted Meling over Taylor. Hopefully can do a job for us anyway.

 

Aye hes going to slate the team that pay his new improved wages

 

Quite happy with him considering the rest of the business we have done

 

Would have preferred Meling in all honesty but overall not too fussed and just happy we got another Left Back. Hope he does well!

 

Having completed the biggest-ever deal for a Scottish player, Celtic are now left with the impossible task of replacing Kieran Tierney.

The academy graduate joined Arsenal earlier this summer for a reported £25m, a record fee for a Scottish player.

Manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that another left-back will be arriving to compete with Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, and it appears that Greg Taylor has chosen to fill that role.

The BBC reported this afternoon that a deal is close, with the defender to make the move in the next 24 hours.

The 21-year-old has already played over 100 games for Kilmarnock and is a Scotland international, so it's a signing which certainly makes sense on paper.

Here's what he'd bring to Celtic if the transfer does happen.


Defensive solidity
It must be said that Taylor doesn't score too many goals - he's got one senior goal in his entire career, in fact.


Taylor is also not particularly prolific when it comes to assists, but what he can offer is real defensive solidity - which you can't say about Bolingoli-Mbombo.

Though he's quite small at only 5ft 9, Taylor more than holds his own in aerial battles.

Many opposing teams, particularly Aberdeen and Derek McInnes, have sought to target him by putting a big striker out wide and launching diagonals.

Taylor has a good leap though, and while he doesn't always win his headers - 30.3 per cent last season - the stats don't tell the full story.

While he may not technically "win" the header, the 21-year-old almost always makes it difficult for his opponent and either doesn't allow them to win it either, or makes it so that they can't win it cleanly.

Even looking purely at the stats his aerial success rate is slightly better than Tierney's at 29.1 per cent last season.

On the deck Taylor's stats are excellent, winning close to 70 per cent of his defensive duels last season, of which had had more than all but two players under 25.

He made only 17 sliding tackles in the whole of last season's Premiership season, indicating his positioning is good, and won over half of those.

As Paolo Maldini once said: "If I have to make a tackle I've already made a mistake" - and there's a man who knew something about playing left-back, not to mention one who purportedly averaged 0.5 tackles per game over his career.



Calm under pressure
One of the most impressive things about Tierney was how unfazed he appeared as soon as he broke into the Celtic team, and Taylor is very much cut from the same cloth in terms of mentality.

Only his second start for Killie came in a relegation play-off against Falkirk, with the Ayrshire side trailing 1-0 after the first leg.

Taylor put in an assured performance at the age of only 18 and has essentially made the left-back slot his own ever since.

Under Steve Clarke he regularly featured in wins or draws with Rangers and Celtic, and never once looked overawed or out of his depth.

Perhaps the best example came at the end of last season when Andy Robertson picked up an injury and Taylor was thrown in to make his Scotland debut away to Belgium.


Playing against Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard is a tough task for some of the very best defenders in the world, but of all the problems Scotland had on the night Taylor wasn't one of them.

The Killie man doesn't seem like someone who would wilt under the pressure at Celtic Park.


Room to improve
Given he's already made more than 100 appearances for Kilmarnock, it's easy to forget that Taylor is still only 21.

The Scotland international should therefore still be able to improve the areas where he's lacking.

As already discussed he's not the best going forward.

Part of that is Killie's system and the fact he was playing behind Jordan Jones for almost all of his professional career, the Rangers man not known for his defensive diligence.

Clarke has said though that Taylor should score more, and for a player who isn't uncomfortable bombing on his final ball needs to improve.

If he were to move to Celtic though he'd have far more opportunity to play in the opposition half, and should therefore improve that side of his game


Value for money
While talk of a £900,000 offer is nonsense for a player of Taylor's quality, the financial realities of Scottish football mean he'd be relatively cheap to get.

Just as Arsenal can get Tierney for £25m while Manchester United pay £55m for Aaron Wan Bissaka, Celtic wouldn't have to break the bank for Taylor.

With Tierney's departure he's arguably the best left-back in the Premiership - and he'd probably move to England for a big fee in future.


Were it not for Tierney and Robertson, Taylor could probably look forward to dozens of Scotland caps in his future.

In any case he'd be a no-brainer of a signing for Celtic.

 

Happy enough with this one. Lots of experience for a young lad. Looks solid defensively which we will need in some of our Europa games

 

If you can get past the horrible chants in the background, this is a fun one.




Normally I'd be concerned with a rash challenge like that. But then I saw who he was challenging.

 

Sun

KILMARNOCK left-back Greg Taylor is set to complete a move to Celtic within the next 24 hours, with talks between the clubs at an advanced stage, according to reports.

The Hoops had a bid for the the Scotland international rejected during the week but according to the BBC they are now close to meeting their Scottish Premiership rivals’ valuation.


Manager Neil Lennon said on Friday that Taylor, 21, was “an option” before the transfer window closes on Monday.

“There are a number of options and Greg would be one of those.”


Taylor is absent from the Rugby Park team for Saturday’s Scottish Premiership match at St Johnstone on Saturday, having also missed last week’s draw with Aberdeen.

Sunderland and Nurnberg had previously made bids, but the English League One side are understood to have ended their interest.


Killie are demanding £3million for their prized asset.


It is believed that Parkhead chiefs are willing to offer players on loan as part of the deal.

One of them being forgotten man Jack Hendry.

 

If it's the right fee, it's a no brainer. He offers more defensive qualities than boli. He knows the spl, he's an international player. If he goes in and shores up the left side and goes about his business in a quiet and solid way it will be a massive success. Best of luck to the lad.

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Passed the medical.

 

I hope he proves me wrong. £6m on Boli and Greg Taylor and that’s Before wages. Let’s call it the guts of £10m over the course of the contacts. If that was the huns I’d be * myself laughing.

 

But it’s not the huns.

 

I think it's just another example of lazy scouting to be honest. Not impressed but will support the guy. Hopefully comes good.

 

Feel a bit meh with this.

Yes he’s defensive minded, already shown he’s decent enough and got loads of potential to develop.
But why now?? Surely we could have got him in ages ago. Was he so far down the list?
Even if KT didn’t go, he would’ve been ideal cover. And then with the parade of KT goin, would it no be a case of finding a quality replacement. Not a work in progress or a LB who can’t defend.
I am presuming then that most other avenues were exhausted (or do the board will say) and resort to buying Taylor.
Question now is, who is our main LB? A young boy who has no experience at Euro level or a guy that Lenny doesn’t trust fully in big games.


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Exactly. I’d like to think we are tad above them. And yet the deals we are doing right now is something I’d * myself laughing at if they did it.

 

Not hugely excited. Enjoyed that tackle on the * so will give him a chance.

 

Rather him than no one at all.