Celtic summer signing Greg Taylor has made his intentions clear about staking his claim to regular first-team football this season.
The Hoops were in Dubai for their mid-season training camp and Taylor was part of the side that travelled to the Middle East.
In a recent interview that the left-back gave to the Scottish Sun, he talked about getting regular first-team football and how he’s working hard towards it.
Does Taylor deserve a regular left-back spot?
He is good enough for that
He needs time
The Scotland international said: “I went out there early and did a wee bit of work ahead of starting training because my aim for the second half of the season is to kick right on.
“I came here to play games. I don’t want to be just a part of the squad, I want to be an integral part of the squad and play every game.
“That’s what my aim is and I hope I’ve impressed enough in Dubai so that I can do that.”
Not a regular at Parkhead
Taylor arrived at Parkhead from fellow Premiership side Kilmarnock this past summer, while Kieran Tierney left the Hoops to join Arsenal in the Premier League. Taylor penned a four-year deal on joining Celtic.
Since joining though, Taylor hasn’t exactly seen too much first-team football under Neil Lennon. The left-back has made only ten first-team appearances this season, playing six of them in the Premiership and getting one assist as well.
This is in stark contrast to last season when he was a regular at the Killies. He made 41 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring once and assisting four times. 31 of those appearances came in the Premiership.
Taylor is already a regular for the Scottish national team, having made his debut for the first-team in the summer of 2019. In their UEFA Euro qualifying campaign last year, Taylor made three appearances and got two assists.
TIF Tactics
The Hoops’ 4-2-3-1 formation sees Boli Bolingoli play at left-back, with Jonny Hayes also an occasional option in that position. Bolingoli has made 14 Premiership appearances, while Hayes has made five appearances in the left-back position for the club.
Taylor’s regular appearances for Kilmarnock show that he can do a fair job for many teams in the division. With Hayes, only a converted left-back as he is originally a left midfielder, Taylor’s chance to impress will come. He is still only 22 and has time on his hands. He needs to be patient.