Celtic Star Sign Pre-contract Agreement With Croatian Giants: Should The Hoops Be Worried? | OneFootball

If a report from Sportsnet is believed to be true, Dinamo Zagreb have roped in Celtic left-back Greg Taylor on a pre-contract agreement ahead of a Bosman move in the summer window. The Croatian outfit tried to bring him in January by triggering an undisclosed ‘release clause’, but the Scotsman is set to stay at Parkhead, thus relieving Brendan Rodgers for the rest of the season.

The 27-year-old Scotland international had his youth stints with Rangers and Kilmarnock before securing a first-team status for the East Ayrshire side. He returned to Glasgow in 2019, but with Celtic, who eventually handed him a regular role next year onwards. So far he has appeared more than 200 times for the Scottish champions, and the gaffer wanted him to extend his stay beyond this campaign irrespective of Kieran Tierney’s potential homecoming from Arsenal.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 28: Greg Taylor of Celtic celebrates after he scores his team’s fifth during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and Dundee FC at Celtic Park Stadium on February 28, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Bhoys signed Alex Valle on an ambitious season-long loan from Barcelona. However, his minutes were limited as the understudy to Taylor and the Catalan giants decided to recall him last month in favour of a move to Como for the remainder of the season. Rodgers restored depth down the left by securing Jeffrey Schlupp on a six-month loan from Crystal Palace, but the 32-year-old Ghanaian is more of a short-term solution than a long-term recruit.

The versatile ex-Premier League told Celtic TV.

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While he also fits in as a left-sided ‘number 8’, the presence of Arne Engels, Reo Hatate, Paulo Bernardo and Luke McCowan make the Celts well-equipped in the middle of the park. The Northern Irish boss wanted both Taylor and Tierney for the rest of the campaign. But the Gunners decided to keep hold of the latter despite having Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of him in the pecking order.

It would have been a double whammy for Celtic had Taylor joined Dinamo before next week’s deadline. They are favourites to conquer a ‘domestic treble’, also, a deep run in the Champions League would reinstate their lost glory in European football.

Although they must punch above the weight to script an upset against Bayern Munich in the knockout phase playoffs, a balanced ‘back four’ consisting of Taylor would offer more stability until Tierney returns as a like-for-like replacement in the summer. Schlupp could be retained beyond this season to challenge and cover the Scotsman if he impresses enough in the upcoming months.