da betobet： Even though Greg Taylor is certainly one of the players for the future, the 22-year-old full-back has been criticised quite a lot as of late due to his underwhelming performances.
da bet7： Of course, this might be a bit too harsh on a player that young but Frank McAvennie, a Celtic icon himself, seems to believe he’s struggling because he’s not being pushed enough.
Here’s what he said exclusively for Football Insider: “Celtic like to play free and open football but sometimes I see him by Edouard and I think, ‘Really?’ I like free-flowing football as a centre-forward but I never played with defenders who came past the strikers. Sometimes you have got to hold, I know he has energy and wants a goal but first and foremost you are a defender. Take a leaf out of Kieran Tierney’s book.
“Taylor is still young but he does not have anyone to push him. Barry Douglas would give him competition. That is what it is all about, getting pushed. When Patrick Roberts came in, my god, all of a sudden Forrest was one of the best players on the park. Psychologically when somebody comes in you get a wee kick up the backside and maybe he needs that to step up a gear.”
Essentially, McAvennie believes that by adding Leeds United’s Barry Douglas into the mix, Taylor would suddenly get a slight push and be more motivated to improve.
At the moment, he seems too comfortable and that’s impacting his performances. Douglas, of course, has previously been linked with a move to the Scottish Premier League as Neil Lennon wanted to bolster his defensive line.
Of course, with 30 years already on his back and him entering the final year of his deal at Elland Road, Douglas could be available at bargain price as well.
Verdict
Going for Douglas does seem like a win-win scenario for Celtic. Not only would they get an experienced defender for the short-term project but would also have someone to push Taylor to improve for the future.
For that reason, McAvennie’s advice seems quite solid.