Liverpool have confirmed that Andy Robertson will be unavailable for their next two games through injury meaning that the Scotland skipper will likely miss the triple header for Steve Clarke’s team. Scotland will likely need to do without the Liverpool full-back for the two home games against Ukraine and Ireland before an ‘away’ game against Ukraine.
The news will now pose Clarke a question, who does he play at left-back? Kieran Tierney has found himself behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Arsenal full-back pecking order but Clarke prefers to play KT as a left-sided central defender. Accordingly, the Scotland manager should look no further than the Scottish Champions for the replacement for Robbo.
Greg Taylor should be afforded the opportunity to stake a claim for his place in the side as a reward for the fine form he has shown so far this season. The full-back has been one of Ange’s finest achievements since becoming boss in the summer of 2021, taking Taylor into a squad player and establishing him as an excellent, integral part of how the manager wants us to play.
Scotland’s defender Greg Taylor (R)(Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Taylor, 24, joined in 2019 from Kilmarnock and took his time to settle but since Ange arrived, he has developed and progressed into a fine member of the first team. The arrival of Alexandro Bernabei has propelled GT3 to new levels at the back and this form will surely have been noted by Clarke. Whilst he is often involved in International Camps, he is down the pecking order somewhat as the captain of the team is ahead of him.
Clarke, who managed Taylor at Killie, will be acutely aware of what the player is capable of but he will surely have been drawn to his excellent progress with the finest team in Scotland. Of course, Aaron Hickey will also be vying for the jersey but given that there are three games then you’d imagine the manager will change it up at some point. Hopefully, Taylor is rewarded for his form and can prove that he can do it both for club and country.