Why Rodgers is keen to keep ‘instrumental character’ Taylor

As the campaign enters its final weeks it remains unclear whether Celtic left-back Greg Taylor will be at the club next season after nearly six years of service.

The 27-year-old is out of contract and while manager Brendan Rodgers said earlier this year it was more likely than not Taylor will be moving on, some recent reporting suggests the club could come to an agreement with the Scotland international.

Celtic fans are split on whether this would be a wise move or not, with some holding doubts about Taylor’s qualities, particularly at Champions League level.

While the return of Kieran Tierney in the summer perhaps undermines the case for keeping the former Kilmarnock player at a greater cost.

Others, though, believe Taylor is a valuable player who has experience of winning regularly at Celtic, and keeping him alongside Tierney would give them two strong options at left-back next season.

Rodgers happens to be in the latter camp, having said the pair could “dovetail perfectly”. So why is the Northern Irishman so keen to keep Taylor?

The Celtic manager’s praise for Taylor came after Celtic’s 5-1 thumping of Kilmarnock, where he was named player of the match.

Having dropped out of the team for five league matches, Taylor was re-introduced from the bench at half-time of the 1-0 defeat by St Johnstone.

Despite Celtic failing to come back in the match Rodgers saw enough to reinstate Taylor into the starting line-up, and he thrived as Celtic returned to form with a bang.

Playing as an inverted left-back, as he often does, Taylor was involved in the first two goals through the middle of the pitch as Celtic rattled four in 25 minutes past Kilmarnock.

For the opener, Taylor popped up on the edge of the box and combined with Reo Hatate to open up space for the midfielder to curl in a beauty.

A look at his heatmap for that game, shows he virtually played as a number 10 when Celtic had the ball.

And while it was only one game, the Celtic manager has been clear Taylor’s ability to perform that role is something he cherishes in their bid to open up defences.

“In terms of that role, that inverted position, that’s as good as I’ve seen that played,” Rodgers said of Taylor’s display against Kilmarnock.

“When you’re playing against teams that are man-to-man you need to have mobility in your team, players who can find space. Who are clever and know when to be inside and when to be outside.

“There’s so much more to him than his game, but his game is perfect for how we work and how we play.”