Former Celtic player Greg Taylor has spoken about his sudden exit, as well as when he knew that he was going to be leaving.
Former Celtic defender Greg Taylor has revealed the truth about his Celtic exit in an interview with Open Goal.
The left-back left Celtic last summer without a proper goodbye, with the player admitting that he wasn’t even sure if he was going or not.
Speaking about the situation, he said:
“As my last six months of my contract were running down, it looked more likely I’d be going. I’d had an amazing six years there. It looked likely Kieran [Tierney] was coming back. I wanted to be playing regularly.
It just felt like it probably wasn’t going to be the case. It wasn’t maybe a fair fight. I didn’t get a proper goodbye because I didn’t know 100% I was going.”
After spending six seasons with the Celts, Taylor departed for PAOK. Although at times, fans were divided on whether or not he was good enough to be a regular starter for the Hoops, he won several trophies during his time here and was loved by managers like Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers.
Taylor also touched on how close he was to staying in Glasgow, saying:
“I phoned the manager a couple of days before it, and he still said he was hoping I was phoning to say I was coming back.
There were a few other [clubs interested] in Europe, a couple in England. PAOK made the most effort. The sporting director was really keen, put a presentation together, said it was 100 years for the club, and they were having a right go trying to be successful this season.
Eventually, I decided, why not, let’s go and try it.”
It appears that not only did Taylor not decide if he was going or not, but the club didn’t either until the very last moment. From this, Celtic seemed keen to keep him on their books, but ultimately, things didn’t go that way.
Enjoying his time in Greece
Since arriving in Greece, Taylor has been enjoying his time there. Out of 20 possible appearances in the league, he has made 10, and has recorded a good performance in most of them. He has also played three times in the Greece Cup, as well as once in the Europa League.
PAOK currently sit third in the Super League 1, only three points off the top spot with a game in hand. The dream they sold to Taylor is seemingly coming true, and all supporters will be happy to see the player having a good time at his new club.
Some fans were actually calling for Celtic to take another look at Taylor in the summer. If the Hoops fail to land Marcelo Saracchi or another left-back on a permanent deal, Taylor could be a really good option to support Tierney.
When the player heard of the club’s interest in bringing Tierney back, he knew that his starting place was gone. He would probably like to continue over in Greece for now, but a transfer back to Parkhead one day would be a respectable move for the club to make.