How Green Is My Valle?

The left-back saga just got dramatic at the weekend with Greg Taylor apparently indignant over fan reaction at home to St Mirren. But how does he stack up against loanee Alex Valle?

The left-back soap opera is turning into a drama!

Following supporter love-in for the (apparently) returning Kieran Tierney, Greg Taylor had stormed off up the tunnel at the end of the St Mirren victory such that manager Brendan Rodgers was moved to an impassioned defence of his full-back post-match,

This is a good ol’ fashioned pot-boiled that has been simmerin’ along getting hotter and hotter as the season has progressed. Taylor started the season well perhaps motivated by the arrival on loan of Barcelona youngster Alex Valle. Rodgers had spoken of the 27-year-old “tidying up” aspects of his game.

Valle has looked lively but erratic and Taylor remains the manager's first pick.

Will Tierney return? Will Taylor sign a new contract? What is Valle’s release clause and will Celtic trigger it?

Valle made life interesting for line-up watchers with an eye-catching display at home to St Johnstone on the 29^th of December.

Two notable metrics from that performance. He led the team with a 226 – over 200 is rare and his previous season high was 131 away at Ross County. He also set up seven chances, three more than the next highest.

But he was on the bench for the derby.

Today, putting to one side the Tierney speculation, and given Valle is just a tiny bit shy of 900 minutes, let’s run a comparison.