Rangers have ground to make up in this transfer window as they will try tooth and nail to stop Celtic from winning their ninth title in a row. The battlefield has slightly been evened as Celtic too are going through a significant rebuilding phase, and they also need to add new players to bolster their squad. Therefore the team who has a better transfer window could end up dominating the upcoming season.
One of the players who has been linked (Daily Record) with both Celtic and Rangers recently is Kilmarnock’s left-back Greg Taylor. Championship outfit Hull City are also said to be interested, and they are valuing him at 400,000. The report mentions that for Rangers or Celtic to land him, both the teams will have to ship some players away.
Kieran Tierney is too good a player to dislodge from the starting lineup
Celtic have got the best fullback in the division in the form of Kieran Tierney, and the Bhoys will look to keep him at Parkhead even though he is attracting a fair bit of interest from the Premier League. Celtic do have a vacancy for the backup option as Emilio Izaguirre’s contract is set to expire in the next few days.
However, as long as Tierney is fit, Taylor wouldn’t come close to first-team football at Parkhead. Taylor is on the rise after his impressive season with Kilmarnock, and he would definitely want to play regularly at this stage of his career instead of sitting on the bench.
Why Rangers have the advantage here?
On the other hand, Rangers have got Borna Barisic who was brought in for big money last summer. The Croatian fullback started well, but he struggled later on with form and injury. So much so that he was replaced by Andy Halliday and Jon Flanagan in the left-back role even though both of them aren’t natural at left back.
We want Gerrard to give Barisic another year at Ibrox, but his injury issues might concern the manager. Therefore Gerrard might be keen on bringing in a left back. In that case, Taylor can be signed, and the 21-year-old will have much more chances in the first team if he gets to compete with Barisic.
With James Tavernier being linked with a move away from the club, Flanagan might have to go back to the right-back position to replace him. In that case, the Gers will be left with just one proper left back option and that too someone who has turned out to be injury prone. So Taylor might fancy his chances to grab the no. 1 left back spot which is there for the taking. Therefore we feel that given Rangers’ situation, they are likely to have more chances of luring Taylor at Ibrox.
