Celtic youngster Stephen Welsh should test himself with a loan move

Add as preferred source on Google

You could be forgiven for forgetting just how impressive young Celtic defender Stephen Welsh was in his debut last season.

With the Hoops toiling for centre-back options on Hamilton’s artificial surface back in February, Neil Lennon turned to Welsh to partner Christopher Jullien and Kris Ajer as part of a back-three.

A Jullien error robbed Welsh of a clean sheet on his senior debut, but he did go on to bail out the Frenchman with one particular long ball that his partner had misjudged.

As well as that, the up-and-coming defender looked composed on the ball and never made a mistake against the powerful Marios Ogkmpoe of Hamilton.

That followed a productive loan spell with Greenock Morton in the Championship where Welsh played on 18 occasions during the first half of last season. (Transfermarkt).

However, any hopes that he would be kicking on in the first-team at Parkhead this term seems to be fading. He hasn’t managed to make any of the first four matchday squads of the season.

Opportunities don’t appear to be there

That’s despite the fact that youngsters such as Karamoko Dembele, Scott Robertson, Kerr McInroy, and Cameron Harper have made matchday squads.

As well as that, Celtic have allowed Jozo Simunovic to depart yet still don’t look any closer to bringing Welsh into the side. Instead, the likes of Jullien, Ajer, Hatem Elhamed, and Nir Bitton are all still ahead of him respectively.

But from Welsh’s debut last season as well as his senior appearances with Morton, he’s shown he’s ready for more senior football if it’s available.

Celtic, therefore, should be looking to find the youngster another loan move, preferably in the Scottish Premiership.

With the Hoops surely in the market to sign another centre-back this summer, there’s no benefit for Welsh in keeping him around. He’s proven he can cope with first-team level football.

Plying your trade with the Celtic reserves is terrific, but nothing will improve a player’s development like men’s football.

If Celtic could bag Welsh a year at a fellow Premiership club, it could do wonders for his development. It would also allow the club to assess his performance levels as well as give the Celtic fans more of a look at him.

You only have to look at what loan moves have done for the likes of Kristoffer Ajer, Callum McGregor, and Ryan Christie respectively. There’s no reason why Welsh can’t fall into that bracket with a full year of games under his belt.

His performance against Hamilton last season suggested he’s ready. It’s time for Celtic to put that theory to the test this season.

In other news, we talk about the need for Celtic to upgrade in another position within three weeks.