The January switch window formally opens for enterprise on Wednesday and it stays to be seen how busy Celtic will probably be forward of the second half of the season.
Brendan Rodgers‘ facet are at the moment 14 factors clear on the prime of the Scottish Premiership desk, have misplaced as soon as in six Champions League video games, and already gained the League Cup.
There is no such thing as a rapid want for them to tear up their squad and make drastic adjustments to the group within the winter window, however there might nonetheless be some motion.
One participant who may very well be on the chopping block, nevertheless, is Scotland worldwide Greg Taylor, after his efficiency within the cup last conflict with Rangers.
Why Celtic ought to transfer on from Greg Taylor
Regardless of scoring within the 3-3 draw, earlier than Celtic gained on penalties, the left-back didn’t take pleasure in the most effective afternoon and made a vital error for the primary objective within the match, giving the ball away within the build-up to Nedim Bajrami’s strike.
Fashionable account ‘Every thing Celtic’ on X posted that the previous Kilmarnock “simply secured his departure” as he “hasn’t been ok for Celtic for a very long time” in the course of the match. Additionally they added that they want to see him moved on in January.
Taylor, 27, has began 12 of the membership’s 18 league video games to this point this season, which doesn’t recommend that Rodgers is trying to instantly ditch him from the membership.
Nonetheless, the Northern Irish boss might lastly bin the defender from the squad by securing an in-house deal for Alex Valle to be the long-term first-choice in that place, in a deal much like the one which secured the companies of Jota below Ange Postecoglou.
Celtic signed Jota on mortgage from Benfica initially, earlier than they landed a everlasting deal for £6.5m in the summertime of 2022, after which bought him to Al Ittihad for a whopping £25m after two years at Parkhead.
As you’ll be able to see within the graphic above, his spell in Scotland was extremely productive on the prime finish of the pitch, with simply shy of 60 objective contributions in 83 matches.
Why Alex Valle may very well be Jota 2.0
Celtic might ditch Taylor and land Jota 2.0 by swooping to signal Valle on a everlasting deal from Barcelona, as he’s a younger star with large potential.
On the age of 20, the Spaniard has loads of time left forward of him to develop and hone his expertise, which implies that the Hoops might put money into his expertise and supply him with a platform to showcase his means over the approaching years – as they did with Jota.
His performances when given an opportunity to shine this season have been encouraging and recommend that he’s able to step up and take Taylor’s place long-term, which might then permit Rodgers to lastly axe the Scottish defender.
|
24/25 Premiership |
Greg Taylor |
Alex Valle |
|---|---|---|
|
Begins |
12 |
6 |
|
Assists |
4 |
3 |
|
Key passes per recreation |
1.4 |
1.8 |
|
Go accuracy |
88% |
88% |
|
Dribbled previous per recreation |
0.5x |
0.4x |
As you’ll be able to see within the desk above, Valle has assisted a objective each different begin on common, in comparison with Taylor’s one in three, and has been dribbled previous fewer instances per match.
These statistics recommend that the 20-year-old, who was hailed as a “top-notch” defender by former coach Oscar Lopez, has the potential to be an improve on the Scotland worldwide, if he can keep that degree of efficiency over the course of a season.
Due to this fact, Celtic ought to look to repeat the trick they performed with Jota by securing an in-house deal to signal Valle completely, as he may very well be a wonderful long-term addition for the Hoops, primarily based on his sturdy kind when referred to as upon this time period.
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