Brendan Rodgers was asked about Greg Taylor’s contract situation in his media conference ahead of the match against Chelsea later today. The Celtic manager confirmed that the Scotland left-back remains very much part of his plans and that talks have been held on a new long-term deal.
However Rodgers also emphasised the need for competition for places within the squad and notes that currently Taylor does not have that, as the only left-back in the Celtic first team squad. Rodgers also stressed that there can be no guarantees that any player will play every game, hinting that the hold-up on a new deal could relate to Taylor’s concern that he could lose his place to a new arrival.
However it’s more likely that Taylor, who came in from Kilmarnock, will see himself deserving of a significantly higher salary that is currently the case, given his success at Celtic.
Here’s what the Celtic manager had to say when asked about Greg Taylor’s contract situation and the importance of getting a new deal agreed.
“Yes, that’s equally as important. We obviously want to improve the squad. But it is important, I don’t want players going into that last year where possible.
“It’s really between the club and his agent. He’s one that I’ve said all along that I want him to stay here. I can’t guarantee to any player that they are going to play every single game. What I want to build here is a strong squad where there is competition and at this moment in time Greg doesn’t have that and we want to bring that into the squad,” Brendan said.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that I have really enjoyed working with him. He is a fantastic player, how his career has gone at Celtic, I’m really pleased for him and he’s someone we’d want to tie down for the longer term so I’m hopeful that we can do that.
Asked if there has been an offer tabled to Greg Taylor by Celtic, Brendan confirmed that that is the case.
“I believe so. I think there was communication towards the end of last season. I also met with Greg’s agent to talk through the importance of where I see it, but also to be honest and open where everything is at, so it’s clear we want to keep him. I am hopeful that we can get a deal done because he’s a very important player for us.”
Watch Brendan’s Stateside media conference below…
