Greg Taylor has faced a decent bit of criticism during his time at Celtic but he has always remained a contributor, and mostly a starter for the club. Following the arrival of Jeffrey Schlupp on loan from Crystal Palace in the winter and his brilliant performance against Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena, there is competition for that starting spot at left-back.
There are question marks surrounding Taylor's future with Celtic as well. Kieran Tierney has signed a pre-contract agreement and when he arrives next summer, he will be the starter without a doubt.
On the other hand, Taylor's contract runs out in the summer and he has not agreed an extension yet. He might have doubts about his role in the team with Tierney set to arrive and has been linked with a move to Dinamo Zagreb.
Despite that, nobody expects Taylor to be left out of the squad. Yet, that is exactly what happened in the game against Aberdeen. Now, we know why.
Celtic boss explains Greg Taylor's sudden absence from squad
Fortunately, Taylor's absence from the squad is not due to any injury or falling out with the manager. Instead, it is positive news. As reported by CeltsAreHere, Brendan Rodgers told BBC Sportsound:
"Greg was in the squad, and then late this afternoon, when we were at the hotel, his wife went into labour.
“Hopefully, all being well, and of course, family is much more important than football, so we sent him away to be with her."
We would like to wish Taylor and his family all the best. Hopefully, everything will go well and it was certainly the right call on the part of the club.
Of course, in the absence of Taylor, Schlupp slotted in at left-back once again. The Crystal Palace loanee is proving to be a shrewd signing for Celtic and has already proven a lot of doubters wrong.
There are even calls for Schlupp to be signed on a permanent basis in the summer when his deal with the Premier League club is believed to be running out. He has the ability to play in a variety of positions other than left-back.