Taylor deserves better than to be cast aside for returning hero Tierney

The summer of 2019 saw Celtic arrive at a fork in the road. A die-hard fan of the club, Kieran Tierney never went looking for a move away from Parkhead. When Arsenal intimated they’d be willing to pay £25million for his signature, pragmatism was always going to win the day.

To prepare for the inevitable, the club splashed out £3m to bring in Boli Bolingoli from Rapid Vienna. Once Tierney’s transfer to North London had been confirmed, some £2.2m was spent to recruit Greg Taylor from Kilmarnock.

The respective contributions of both players to the cause proved to be a salutary lesson in the danger of being seduced by exotic sounding names from continental clubs.

A man with an unfortunate liking for bling, Bolingoli was happy to dine out on the fact that his cousin was Romelu Lukaku.

After an uncertain start to life on the park, his questionable character was exposed off it when he broke Covid-19 quarantine rules by making an unsolicited trip to Spain and then playing against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on his return.

After being shipped out on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir, he played a couple of matches at the start of the following season before moving to Mechelen on a free transfer.

Arsenal star Tierney appears ready to make a sensational return to Parkhead

Brendan Rodgers was angry that fans chanted Tierney’s name while Taylor was on pitch

Taylor, in sharp contrast, did what he’d always done. Second choice to Bolingoli initially, he bided his time, worked hard, made no fuss and took his chance when it came along.

Having seen off one challenge for his position, he met the others head on. Diego Laxalt, Jonny Hayes and Alexandro Bernabei.

When Ange Postecoglou replaced Neil Lennon as manager in 2021, Taylor – then aged 24 – was thrown another curve ball. Could he adapt his game for the Australian and play as an inverted full-back? After a necessary period of adjustment, the answer was a resounding yes.

As Celtic re-established their dominance in Scottish football, so the Scot grew in stature. No longer just a survivor, but an integral part of the side.

With the squad evolving, so did Taylor’s role within it. Together with Callum McGregor, Joe Hart, Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers, he seamlessly became a valued part of its leadership group.

But the man from Gourock didn’t earn the trust of a succession of managers purely by being a good influence on others. You don’t survive five-going-on-six seasons at Celtic and win 10 major honours unless you are delivering consistently on the park.

While replacing Tierney – a generational talent – was always the definition of mission impossible, Taylor has been an excellent signing for the club by any rationale.

Now aged 27, he’s entitled to see his service and status reflected in the terms Celtic offer him in any new contract that’s tabled.

Supporters are excited at the prospect of fans’ favourite Tierney being back at the club

But Taylor has been a fine servant in his absence and, unlike Tierney, is rarely injured

Even though he’s now free to talk to other clubs, he wants to stay at Parkhead. Brendan Rodgers certainly wants to keep him.

But if an agreement can’t be reached, the Scotland international assuredly won’t be short of good offers from elsewhere.

Taylor deserved better than to hear Tierney’s name being chanted by a section of the crowd towards the end of Sunday’s routine win over St Mirren.

While a return to Parkhead for the Arsenal man carries obvious emotional appeal for the rank and file, you can understand why Rodgers was so vexed by it being voiced while Taylor was on the field of play.

‘That’s a total lack of respect,’ said the manager.

‘Greg Taylor, he’s been absolutely amazing at this club. How does he feel? He nearly breaks his nose there, bleeding for the club, for a cause.

‘It’s not very respectful. You sing for another player, no matter what Kieran’s history is. I don’t like that.’

It made for a terse ending for what was otherwise another good day for Celtic as they opened the gap to Rangers to 13 points.

Taylor in action for Celtic against St Mirren in Sunday’s 3-0 win for the champions

Tierney on the ball for Arsenal but his appearances have been severely limited

Rodgers, naturally, wouldn’t entertain any media questions pertaining to Tierney. That will remain the case until a pre-contract agreement for the player to return in the summer is confirmed. Only at that stage will Celtic see if Arsenal are willing to let him move back to Glasgow this month.

While Tierney’s return would be a hugely popular move among the Celtic support, it would also come with a degree of risk.

Since moving south, he’s endured a shoulder injury, a groin issue, three separate hamstring injuries and an abductor problem.

Stretchered off against Switzerland in the Euros while playing for Scotland, he’s managed a total of 69 minutes of football for his club this season and has missed 94 matches for club and county since leaving Celtic.

No-one is quite sure if he’s just endured dreadful luck or if the number of absences are just where his body is at aged 27.

But expecting Tierney to play 50 games a season for Celtic when he’s never managed 40 in a term for Arsenal does seem somewhat fanciful.

This explains why Rodgers was so keen to wrap a protective arm around Taylor post-match on Sunday.

Having missed just eight games since signing for the club, his availability has been remarkable for a combative full-back. And with Celtic playing between 50 and 60 games next season, such dependability would be extremely welcome.

The question is not whether Rodgers could give both left-backs enough minutes to keep them satisfied. He can. It’s whether the purse strings would stretch far enough.

Even though Tierney’s days of earning six figures per week in the English Premier League are clearly coming to an end, he will still command a significant salary. Taylor too, will want to secure his future with the biggest contract of his career as he approaches his peak years.

While the financial burden may be offset by Bernabei’s impending £5m transfer to Brazilian club Internacional – plus Alex Valle’s return to parent club Barcelona in the summer – the cost of Celtic keeping two full internationals on the books for a defensive position may yet prove prohibitive.

Purely from a sporting perspective, though, Rodgers would like to see it happen.

Having had the unenviable task of filling Tierney’s boots for so long, Taylor might well soon be sharing the stage with him. Having stayed the course and seen so many competitors for his position fall by the wayside, he’s earned that honour.