Greg Taylor (Scottish footballer)

Greg John Taylor (born 5 November 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Celtic and the Scotland national team. He is a defensive and midfield utility player primarily deployed at left back.

For similarly named people, see Greg Taylor.

Greg Taylor
Taylor with Scotland in 2019
Personal information
Full name Greg John Taylor[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-05) 5 November 1997[2]
Place of birth Greenock, Scotland
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Left-back, Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 3
Youth career
2008–2014 Rangers
2014–2016 Kilmarnock
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Kilmarnock 111 (1)
2019– Celtic 26 (1)
National team‡
2017 Scotland U20 5 (1)
2017–2018 Scotland U21 14 (0)
2019– Scotland 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:04, 16 September 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:49, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Early years

He started his career as a youth player at Rangers and was associated with the Ibrox club for six years until he was released, with the club saying he was "too small and too slight."[3] He then signed for Kilmarnock in July 2014,[4] and captained their under-17 and under-20 youth teams before making his progression into first team football in 2016.

Kilmarnock

Taylor made his first team debut for Kilmarnock on 14 May 2016, starting at left back in a Scottish Premiership game against Dundee United.[5] He then made his second start in the second leg of the Scottish Premiership Play-off Final, which Kilmarnock won 4–0 against Falkirk to win the tie 4–1 on aggregate. After the 2015–16 season ended, Taylor signed a three-year contract with Kilmarnock.[6]

Having kept his place in the team under managers Lee Clark, Lee McCulloch and Steve Clarke (the latter of whom oversaw a dramatic improvement in the club's form during 2017–18), Taylor was rewarded with another new contract in April 2018, running until June 2021.[7] Taylor scored his first goal for the club, the first in a 5–0 win against Hamilton Accies on 30 March 2019.

During the summer 2019 transfer window, Kilmarnock rejected offers for Taylor from Nuremberg,[8] Sunderland[9] and Celtic.[10]

Celtic

Taylor signed a four-year contract with Celtic on 2 September 2019.[11]

International career

In March 2017, Taylor played in his first match for the Scotland under-21 side in a friendly against Estonia.[12][13]

Taylor was selected for the Scotland under-20 squad in the 2017 Toulon Tournament. In the team's second match in the tournament, Taylor scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Brazil under-20.[14] Taylor was also the only Scottish player named in the 'team of the tournament' as well as being named 4th best player.

Taylor was named in the full Scotland squad for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying fixtures in June 2019;[15] he remained on the bench in the home game against Cyprus at Hampden Park. After captain Andy Robertson picked up an injury, Taylor debuted at left-back against the world's top-ranked team, Belgium on 11 June, and played the full match in Brussels as Scotland lost 3–0. Manager Steve Clarke hailed Taylor's debut as "excellent".[16][17]

He then played in the next two games, on 16 and 19 November, winning against Kazakhstan and Cyprus. His performances were praised especially for his link up play with left sided Celtic team mate, James Forrest.[18]

Personal life

Taylor was born in Greenock and raised in nearby Gourock, attending Clydeview Academy. His younger brother Ally plays for Kilmarnock,[3] and made his first team debut in February 2020 while Greg was playing for their opponents Celtic.[19]

Career statistics
As of 19 September 2020[20][2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kilmarnock 2015–16[21] Scottish Premiership 1000001[lower-alpha 1]020
2016–17[22] Scottish Premiership 340103000380
2017–18[23] Scottish Premiership 380304000450
2018–19[24] Scottish Premiership 361203000411
2019–20[25] Scottish Premiership 2000102[lower-alpha 2]050
Total 111160110301311
Celtic 2019–20[25] Scottish Premiership 12020002[lower-alpha 2]0140
2020–21[25] Scottish Premiership 80000041121
Career total 129180110701531
  1. Appearance in the Premiership play-offs
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Europa League

Honours
Celtic

References
  1. "Player Details: Taylor, Greg John". FitbaStats. Bobby Sinnett and Thomas Jamieson. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  2. Greg Taylor at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  3. Mitchell, Jonathan (26 May 2016). "Gourock player's pride at helping Kilmarnock keep top flight status". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  4. "Greg Taylor's Contract Extended". Kilmarnock F.C. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  5. "Kilmarnock 2-4 Dundee United: Clark changed players with play-off in mind". BBC Sport. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. McLaughlin, Chris (7 June 2016). "Kilmarnock eye 11 new signings as Greg Taylor extends contract". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  7. "Greg Taylor: Kilmarnock left-back agrees new contract until 2021". BBC Sport. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  8. Winton, Richard (3 July 2019). "Greg Taylor: Kilmarnock reject £500,000 Nurnberg bid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  9. Winton, Richard (28 August 2019). "Greg Taylor: Kilmarnock reject Sunderland bid for left-back". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. Lewis, Jane (30 August 2019). "Greg Taylor: Celtic fail in bid for Kilmarnock left-back". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  11. "Greg Taylor: Celtic clinch signing of Kilmarnock & Scotland left-back". BBC Sport. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  12. "Scotland U21 profile". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  13. "Scotland Under-21 0-0 Estonia Under-21". BBC Sport. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  14. "Scotland U20s 1-0 Brazil U20s". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  15. "Scotland squad: Steve Clarke selects five uncapped players". BBC. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  16. "Romelu Lukaku puts two past improving Scotland as Belgium hand Steve Clarke his first defeat". Daily Telegraph. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  17. "Steve Clarke hails Greg Taylor's 'excellent' Scotland debut in Belgium defeat". Daily Telegraph. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  18. McGarry, Graeme (23 November 2019). "Greg Taylor hoping link-up with Celtic teammates for Scotland can lead to more opportunities at club level". Glasgow Times.
  19. Gannon, Michael (23 February 2020). "Celtic 3 Kilmarnock 1 as Leigh Griffiths returns in style to fire Hoops 12 points clear - 3 talking points". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  20. Greg Taylor at Soccerbase
  21. "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  22. "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  23. "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  24. "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  25. "Games played by Greg Taylor in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  26. "Celtic champions & Hearts relegated after SPFL ends season". BBC Sport. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  27. Celtic win fourth straight Scottish Cup as Hazard's shootout saves break Hearts, Ewan Murray, The Guardian, 20 December 2020
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