Before being substituted out of the Glasgow derby triumph in December, Celtic defender Stephen Welsh was doing admirably. To his relief, the Hoops went on to win even though the center-half was hurt at the end of the first half.
Welsh made a comeback to the game against Buckie Thistle last month, and he did replace Maik Nawrocki off the bench in Saturday’s draw with Aberdeen, just seconds after he narrowly escaped being sent off. Had events in January transpired differently, the Scotland youth internationalist might not have been playing for the Hoops at all.
Welsh remained at Celtic, although there were a few departures as much of the deadwood in the team was wiped out last month. Due to Brendan Rodgers’ numerous injury problems at center-half this season, every member of the team stayed with the team.
It appeared as though Gustaf Lagerbielke was going to step down, even though his interest in Welsh was not widely known. Previous windows have seen rumors of an academy graduate’s departure.
Scottish Premiership soccer football match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain on December 30, 2023 Stephen Welsh of Celtic and Cyriel Dessers of Rangers in action Russell Cheyne/REUTERS
There was interest once more in January of this year. Anthony Joseph, a journalist for Sky Sports, revealed as much on The Celtic Exchange Podcast. “Stephen Welsh, I understand Celtic very quickly knocked back a loan with an option to buy bid from a team in Germany,” Joseph said.
Stephen Welsh has a certain quality that the European leagues in Italy, France, and Germany like, and Celtic also think highly of him.
They are now in a strong position because they have retained them and signed him to a new contract. But in the summer, I believe there might be a greater interest in Welsh.
Rogers has a choice of five center backs when healthy. Normally, managers would have four first-team options available at any given time, but it makes sense to maintain five players for the second half of the season given the injury problems.
It is not shocking that Welsh is the subject of the newest transfer rumor, and it is inevitable that it will resurface in a few months.
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