BRENDAN RODGERS is hopeful an agreement can be reached soon in the contract talks with left-back Greg Taylor.
The Scotland international comes out of terms at the end of the season and will be able to walk away from the champions on a free if a deal cannot be thrashed out.
Rodgers is an admitted admirer of the 26-year-old defender who joined Celtic in a £2.25million switch from Kilmarnock in September 2019.
The player has made the position his own in recent seasons to the extent Rodgers allowed his back-up Alexandro Bernabei to leave the Hoops in March on a season-long loan move to Brazilian club SC Nacional which expires at the end of the year.
ON THE BALL…Greg Taylor in action during the 2-0 win over Hibs at Easter Road last month.
Alex Valle arrived in a season-long temporary transfer from Barcelona to challenge Taylor for the No.3 position.
Asked if the deal was nearing completion, Rodgers answered: “I hope we can get something organised and done on that because he’s a fantastic player for us.
“He makes that position work how we want it to look and he’s first class.
“He knows we want him to stay and, hopefully, between his reps and the club, we can organise that.
“He is a player I really rate and I’ve seen him grow from the outside looking in. I really like everything about Greg, his personality and I love his spirit.”
The gaffer, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “I love how he plays the game and he plays like a midfielder coming from that outside position into the pitch.
“He makes it difficult for the opposition and he is technically strong for a player who is small in stature.
“He competes in his duels and wins headers and does a lot of good things in the game which I like and appreciate.
“I really hope that we can tie him down. In this period, that would be a real priority for us to get something sorted.”
Taylor is likely to be in his usual position when Hearts provide the opposition at Parkhead tomorrow afternoon.
