Despite such an emphatic start to the campaign, Celtic could yet be dealt a major blow after contract talks with one of Brendan Rodgers’ star men reportedly reached a stalemate.
Celtic contract news
Top of the Scottish Premiership, Celtic have so far enjoyed the perfect week after following up their thrashing of title rivals Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup with an even more impressive result against RB Leipzig in the Champions League. Shocking the Bundesliga side, Nicolas Kuhn was the star of the show, scoring twice in Celtic’s 3-1 victory.
Making unexpected progress among Europe’s elite, Celtic are one of several sides benefitting from the new Champions League format in pursuit of causing further upsets throughout the current campaign.
Even as that progress goes on, however, it may be all good news for Rodgers and his side with the January transfer window on the horizon. After losing Matt O’Riley in the summer, the last thing that the Scottish champions will want is for another star player to leave. Yet, reports suggest they may have little choice.
According to the Daily Mail, Celtic are now at risk of losing Greg Taylor with contract talks reaching a stalemate. The left-back’s current deal is set to expire at the end of the season and he will be free to commence negotiations over a summer switch when January arrives.
A mainstay under Rodgers, Taylor’s exit would be a major blow, especially after the Celtic boss admitted that a new contract for the full-back was among the Bhoys’ priorities at the start of the campaign.
Rodgers wants “fantastic” Taylor stay
The Celtic boss told reporters, as relayed by Sky Sports: “I really hope that we can get something organised on that. He’s a fantastic player for us. How he makes that position work how we want it to look, he’s first class.
“He knows we really want him to stay and hopefully between his representatives and the club we can organise that because he is a player that I really rate. I have seen him grow here from the outside looking in and obviously having the chance to work with him now for over a season. I really like everything about Greg. I love his personality, I love his spirit, I love how he plays the game of course.
“He plays the game like a midfield player coming from that outside position in, so he really makes it difficult for the opposition. Technically strong. For what you’d say small in stature he competes in his duels, he wins headers.
“He does a lot of really, really good things in the game which I really like and really appreciate. So I really hope that we can tie him down. In this period now he would be a real priority for us to try and get something sorted.”
A couple of months down the line, however, and that new deal is far from sorted. In fact, it seems as though things are worryingly heading in the opposite direction and towards the exit door next summer.
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