Rodgers must sell wanted Celtic man who earns more than Scales

The January transfer window officially opened for business on Wednesday and Celtic now have the opportunity to dip into the market to bolster their options ahead of the second half of the season.

They have already been linked to a plethora of attacking players, who could come in to improve Brendan Rodgers’ team, including Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The Hoops have also been linked with two players on the left side of the pitch, with reported interest in Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney and Sarspborg winger Sondre Orjasaeter.

Celtic have also been touted with a move for a new centre-forward to come in and compete with Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi, with Brondby’s Mathias Kvistgaarden said to be on their radar.

This means that the Scottish Premiership champions could be busy this month as they look to bring in several new players to bolster their squad before the deadline.

Bringing players in, however, will mean that others will have to be moved on from Parkhead to create space for new recruits to come through the door, and one player is already reportedly on the verge of an exit.

Odin Thiago Holm closing in on Celtic exit

According to GIVEMESPORT journalist Tom Bogert, MLS side LAFC are ‘finalising’ a deal to sign Celtic central midfielder Odin Thiago Holm on loan.

The reporter does not reveal, however, whether the Norwegian gem is joining on loan for the entire year, as the MLS campaign runs yearly rather than seasonally, or until the end of the Scottish season in May.

Holm joined the Hoops from Valerenga in the summer of 2023 and has failed to establish himself as a regular for the Scottish giants over the past 18 months at Parkhead.

The young gem, who turns 22 later this month, has found himself behind Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Arne Engels, Luke McCowan, and Paulo Bernardo in the pecking order for the central midfield positions, with Matt O’Riley and Tomoki Iwata ahead of him last season before their respective exits in the summer.

This has meant that his game time has been incredibly limited since his move to Glasgow last year, and the youngster has not made the most of the opportunities that have come his way.

As you can see in the table above, Holm has not been outstanding defensively or offensively in the middle of the park when given a chance, and that may be why he has struggled for more minutes on the pitch.

Therefore, it makes sense to send the 21-year-old midfielder on loan to LAFC so that he can go out and, hopefully, play regular football in the MLS to develop as a player and hone his skills, ready to return to Celtic in the future to have another crack at becoming a starter.

He may not be the only Hoops man to move on from Glasgow this month, though, as another player is reportedly attracting interest from elsewhere.

Celtic defender eyed by Champions League club

According to journalist Mark Hendry, Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb are showing an interest in Celtic left-back Greg Taylor in the January transfer window.

The reporter claims that Dinamo have been watching the Scotland international and have identified him as a target to potentially come in and bolster their squad ahead of the second half of the season.

67HailHail’s accompanying report from Hendry adds that Dinamo are keen to take advantage of his current contract situation at Parkhead, with the defender’s deal due to expire in the summer.

It reveals that Rodgers would like to keep the left-footed ace by pinning him down to a contract extension, but Taylor has yet to commit to a new deal and that has attracted interest from elsewhere.

With his contract running down, Dinamo would be able to negotiate a pre-contract with the Scottish star that would see him join them for nothing in the summer.

However, they could also use the situation to leverage a cheaper permanent deal this month, so that they could bolster their squad for the second half of this term rather than waiting six months.

Why Celtic should sell Greg Taylor

After allowing Holm to move on, Rodgers must brutally bin Taylor from the squad and abandon his desire to keep the full-back on an extended contract.

Dinamo’s interest in the defender provides the club with an opportunity to rake in some cash on a player who would otherwise leave for nothing in the summer.

His exit would also provide a platform for Barcelona loanee Alex Valle to step up as the first-choice in that position, with his performances so far this season suggesting that the potential is there for him to be an upgrade on Taylor.

As you can see in the table above, the Spaniard has offered more as a creative threat, with more assists and more key passes per game, and has been dribbled past by opposition wingers less frequently.

Selling Taylor would also save a fair chunk of wages for the Scottish giants. Per Salary Sport, the left-back is on £15k-per-week and that is three times as much as Liam Scales, on £5k-per-week.

That is despite the Ireland international offering more to the team on the pitch this season, winning 74% of his defensive duels across 16 league appearances, compared to Taylor’s 51% duel success rate across 14 league outings.

These statistics show that the full-back is not the strongest when it comes to winning his individual duels down the left flank, compared to Scales’ dominant defending, and selling him could allow the club to sign a new player in that role to offer more in that area of the game.

It is now down to Rodgers to sanction a sale to brutally bin Taylor from the club, offering Valle more minutes whilst also opening the door to bring a new signing in.