It seems that reports coming out of Croatia this week, suggesting Greg Taylor has already agreed to leave Celtic for Dinamo Zagreb this summer, should be taken with a substantial pinch of the famous Pag salt the Adriatic country counts among its delicacies.
Unless of course, that is, that the Croatian media know something that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers does not. For when the question was put to him over whether the position of Taylor - who is out of contract in the summer - had now changed, he appeared a little taken aback.
“No, not that I'm aware of,” Rodgers said.
“I know there was interest there back in January, but it was nothing that was ever concrete or spoken about too much.
“My feelings will be still to hope to convince Greg to be here [next season]. Of course, as time goes on, the longer it goes on, then that becomes much less.
“But it doesn't change his professionalism. He's a brilliant professional. We'll just have to see how the next four months go.”
The question in Taylor’s mind over those months will be centred around what will happen after the summer should he choose to commit his future to Celtic, with homegrown hero Kieran Tierney returning to the club from Arsenal.
(Image: Robert Perry - PA) Rodgers has tried his best to provide a satisfactory answer, assuring Taylor that his place at the club and within his squad will still be an important one, and that he will see plenty of gametime even when Tierney is there to provide competition.
Given the volume of games that Celtic play, and the likelihood that Tierney’s unfortunate injury history may mean that his minutes on the field will require a fair bit of monitoring and managing, that is likely to be the case. But whether that is enough for Taylor to ultimately extend his deal, remains to be seen.
“I’ve had a number of open conversations with Greg on it,” he said.
“And I do think that is an issue. There's no doubt about that.
“He's been a starter here for virtually six years. He's always had a challenge that he's overcome from other players coming in. Which is a great testament to him and his mentality and his professionalism.
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“He obviously knows Kieran well and he knows his qualities and his abilities. But there still can be room for two of them here. There's absolutely no doubt. You're playing upwards of 55 to 60 games a season.
“You can't play one player. And I wouldn't want to play one player in all of those. Because you're just not going to have the right physicality and intensity.
“But to have two players of that quality here would be absolutely brilliant for the club, for the team and obviously for the changing room. So that's probably the thing that Greg has to think about.
“From my perspective, I don't see it as a problem. Because I know he'll play a lot of games, he'll play in big games. And like I said, as would Kieran.
“But he has to decide that for himself. It would be a different role for him. But it's not something that we still can't conclude.”
If Taylor is toiling under the weight of what is a massive decision in the context of his career, then he is doing a good job of hiding it.
Rodgers has been impressed that the left back has been able to maintain the same high performance level he has shown since arriving at the club, a little unheralded, around five and a half years ago now, despite the dilemma in front of him.
“No, absolutely,” he said.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a footballer and as a person. Even at Motherwell, I thought he was excellent in the Motherwell game. Just his aggression in the ball and his position. He plays the role near on perfect for us, how we want.
“He knows when to be inside, outside. His level of passing. Everything is at such a consistent level. So, I just think he's that type. If he was sat on a five-year deal or four months, I think you'd get the same from him.
“Of course, from a manager's perspective, you're always trying to stabilise your squad. And stabilise young guys with their futures as well.
“But that ultimately is down to them and their decision.”
Rodgers will allow goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to sit out of tomorrow evening’s Scottish Cup tie against Raith Rovers at Celtic Park with an eye on Bayern Munich as he nurses a minor lower back complaint, with Viljami Sinisalo ready to make his first competitive appearance for the club since arriving last summer.
(Image: Robert Perry - PA) “I'm really looking forward to seeing him make his debut,” he said.
“It’s just a short-term thing [for Kasper]. It'll be okay for Wednesday.
“Viljami is a great boy. He knew coming into here, he's got a real top class goalkeeper to learn from. So sometimes you have to invest your time into learning. But we took him in.
“We'd seen him play. He's obviously represented Finland as well. Very, very talented young goalkeeper.
“He has come in, been patient, understands the role at this point.
“So, it's really nice for him to get that opportunity. I've seen him in pre-season. I've seen him throughout the season since.
“I’ve got no doubts.”
