You know what was telling in Celtic’s win over Kilmarnock last night? The fact that not one signing made last summer started the match.
Brendan Rodgers went with the tried and trusted (and quality) signings of Ange Postecoglou sprinkled with a wee smidge of players from his first tenure as the Celtic manager to get this title over the line.
Matt O’Riley and the Japan trio of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi combined with James Forrest and Callum McGregor to deliver Rodgers his third title as the Celtic boss.
In fact, the only Rodgers player to start the game was Adam Idah but he was signed in January so that doesn’t count.
But remarkably, it was a player signed by Neil Lennon in 2019 that was drawing the plaudits of Kris Boyd as he watched Celtic celebrate winning another title over his old club.
Boyd lauds Celtic’s Greg Taylor vs Kilmarnock
The Sky Sports pundit actually played beside Greg Taylor when he was just a youth player coming through the Kilmarnock ranks.
The former Rangers man admitted that he was blown away with the fullback and said he’s gotten so much better at Celtic since his big move.
Boyd said [Sky Sports], “I think he has been brilliant for Celtic. He has. He’s been really good. I’d love to say long may it continue, but I don’t.
“No listen, he’s been a terrific signing and once again, from Neil [Lennon] it’s great recruitment.
“If you look at Celtic they have a nucleus of Scottish boys in there that know exactly what it means. You can’t get enough of them.
“And again, it’s great talent spotting and he’s kicked on from leaving Kilmarnock and going to Celtic.”
Greg Taylor’s superb season for Celtic under Brendan Rodgers
It’s not really until he was out of the team that some Celtic supporters realised just how important Taylor was.
With Alexandro Bernabei not cutting the mustard as a backup defender to Taylor, when the Scotland star was injured, he was a real big miss in the first team.
One of Celtic’s most consistent players, Taylor has been rated an average of 7.56 by football site Fotmob. That places him ahead of Cameron Carter-Vickers (7.50), Daizen Maeda (7.13) and Kyogo Furuhashi (7.01) this season.
The fullback has made, on average, 62.9 passes per game with a success rate of 81.9%. He also averages over 102 touches with 2.54 per game made in the opposition’s penalty box.
However, defensively, Taylor does need to sharpen up. Winning 1.27 tackles per game with a success rate of over 67%, although not the worst when compared to other defenders in the league, Taylor is performing below the average set by his peers.
Taylor also needs to improve on winning his aerial battles as, again, he averages below his peers with a success rate of 45.6%.
However, Taylor is one of the top performers for ball recoveries, making 5.64 every 90 minutes and is one of the best at winning possession back in the opposition’s final third with an average of 0.56 per game.
Although there are areas he needs ti improve, overall, Taylor has had an excellent season for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.