Celtic boss talks up prospect of playing both Taylor and Tierney

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·19 April 2025

Celtic boss talks up prospect of playing both Taylor and Tierney

Brendan Rodgers spoke today in front of the media about various subjects ahead of this weekend’s trip to Hampden Park, where St Johnstone lie in wait for a Scottish Cup Semi-final clash…

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, looks on prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Taylor and Tierney

Amongst the topics of discussion for the Celtic boss was again the contract situation that is constantly evolving with Greg Taylor and the subsequent impact that would and could have further down the line heading into next season.

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Kieran Tierney of Arsenal looks on during a training session and press conference ahead of their UEFA Champions League 2024/25 quarter final first leg match at Sobha Realty Training Centre on April 07, 2025 in London Colney, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Return of the prodigal son

Prodigal son Kieran Tierney is due to make his dramatic homecoming this summer, joining the likes of Jota and Brendan himself in finding out that life isn’t always greener away from Paradise, even if it can be more glamorous and better paid. That move is highly-anticipated amongst the support, who are all eager to see the once in a generation talent return to the club where he initially made his name and received plaudits widely.

Greg Taylor, Dens Park, Dundee v Celtic. 14th January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

The ideal scenario for Rodgers

The ideal scenario for Brendan Rodgers, as he’s made known for several weeks now, would be to sign Taylor on for another few years and get the very best of his career out of him at Celtic Park, to compete and dovetail with Tierney in that left-back spot.

When asked about it again on Friday afternoon in front of the mainstream media, he said: “Kieran plays his role. It’s a different type of role. He can do that, he can jump on the inside and be outside. He has different strengths and qualities. When you are trying to build a squad, you are trying to have different strengths within it. Kieran has pace, power and running ability. He also has a passion for the club and can’t wait to be here.

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Players of Arsenal celebrate victory following the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between Real Madrid C.F. and Arsenal FC at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 16, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“Irrelevant of his experiences, we will improve as a squad when he comes back. I’m just really pleased for him. It was a fantastic performance by Arsenal [against Real Madrid]over the two legs and to see him be involved in that is obviously a great experience for him. It’s going to be a really exciting last couple of months for him there.

“We know what we are getting with Kieran”

Kieran Tierney of Arsenal breaks away from Daniel Podence of Woverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

We know what we are getting with Kieran. He’s a player with great experience because every single week in the Premier League is like a big European game. It’s so challenging and testing and he’s had a number of years of that. We are getting him back at a brilliant age and, hopefully, he can help this squad achieve a lot more. But we also need a squad of players and it can dovetail perfectly with someone like Greg. But we have to wait and see.”

Taylor is yet to show his hand

Taylor is yet to show his hand and decide either way what he plans to do moving ahead into next season, however, Rodgers reiterated his desire to keep him around but that it’s ultimately out of his hands now. He added: “I have said all along, he is a player I so want to keep here. But that bit of it is out of my hands now. Until then, we just continue to work with him and never give up hope because there is still a bit of time left until the end of the season. I have got nothing concrete to give you on that.”

🔊 LISTEN: “For me (Kieran Tierney) can dovetail perfectly with someone like Greg”. 🍀 Brendan Rodgers remains hopeful that Greg Taylor will sign a new deal at the club but says no agreement has been reached yet. ⬇️
– Jumat, 18 April 2025

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Greg Taylor in action during the Premier Sports Cup Final victory over theRangers at Hampden on 15 December 2024. Photo AJ for The Celtic Star

“In terms of that role, that inverted position, that is as good as I have seen that played last week”

The manager revealed his previous comments regarding Taylor’s circumstance and how he thought the Scot would be leaving were based on his previous exposure to these sorts of situations. “I was talking through my experience of being in this situation before numbers of times with numbers of players,” he explained.

“I am hoping this is one of these ones which can maybe go on longer and doesn’t go the other way because normally in this situation it feels that way. But I think you see from Greg’s performance last week. He was absolutely so good. In terms of that role, that inverted position, that is as good as I have seen that played last week.

Greg Taylor arrives at Celtic Park. Celtic v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership, 12 April 2025. IMAGO Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

“You are playing against teams that are man-to-man, so you need to have mobility in your team, you need to have players who can find space, be clever, know when to be inside, when to be outside. That is the nature of how we play.

“He is such a fantastic player, but he is more than that”

“He is such a fantastic player, but he is more than that. He is not just a great footballer for the way we play and the system that we play, he is very instrumental off the field. He has got a big personality in the changing room, his character fits this club. Why? Because he is up for every single game, I mean every single game, whether it is RB Leipzig at home, where he was absolutely brilliant, or an away game, he is up for every game.”

James Forrest back in training, photo Celtic FC

Rodgers also insisted that it’s the intangibles which make Greg such a useful part of the club, continuing: “He is in tune with what being a Celtic player is about. If you look at Jamesy [Forrest], look at Callum [McGregor], look at these guys, they live with the expectation, they live with the feeling and what the demands are of this club. And Greg lives that feeling as well as a Celtic player.

“If you going to commit you are committing for four or five years”

“So there is so much more to him than his game, but his game is perfect for how we work and how we play, which is why I want to keep him here. Listen, he knows how we all feel about him here. It is a big decision at 27. If you going to commit you are committing for four or five years. You are pretty much saying this is your big contract here.”

Paul Gillespie

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