Stephen Welsh has been one of the success stories of Celtic’s season… despite not playing a minute for the club.
Welsh is on loan at high-flying Motherwell, who played the Hoops off the park at Fir Park last week.
Some in the Hoops support even tipped Jens Askou to replace Wilfried Nancy after his sacking, but we’ve got Martin O’Neill back in the door for now.
Askou hasn’t just impressed with his results in Scotland, but also with his style of play, characterised by slick possession which is easy on the eye.
Welsh has been a central part of this, and has been discussing his new role in a recent interview.
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Shaun Maloney loving the intensity of the Celtic players!
Stephen Welsh on Motherwell and Celtic
Welsh has made over 60 appearances for Celtic since making his debut in 2019.
After a downturn in playing time under Brendan Rodgers, he spent time on loan in Belgium before moving to Lanarkshire this summer.
READ MORE: Celtic target Stefan Ortega in talks with ‘several clubs’ as Man City exit looms
Since moving to Fir Park, Welsh has entered the Scotland conversation with his form.
And speaking to the Motherwell website, he waxed lyrical over their style of play, also crediting his Celtic upbringing.
Welsh said: “It’s been a great few months for me. I’ve loved every minute of it, and I hope it continues. The manager said he signed me because I’ve played this way ever since I was a young boy.
“I was told when I was young that I needed to play on the halfway line and that I needed to be good on the ball. If you’re not good on the ball, you’re not going to play for Celtic.
“I feel I’ve managed to bring that into the team. We need to be good on the ball, and we need to be brave, and having midfielders like Elliot [Watt], Lukas [Fadinger] and Oscar [Priestman], they always want to be on the ball, which is a dream for a centre-back.
“But also, the boys around us centre-backs, the full-backs and also Liam [Gordon] and Paul [McGinn] – have been outstanding.
“They’re probably not as used to being on the ball because they’ve maybe not played this way before.
“You need a manager who is going to come in and implement a style and ensure everyone knows their roles. I always think it’s a bit of a myth in Scottish football that Scottish centre-halves can’t play this way.
“But see, if they’re coached in a certain way, they absolutely can. We’ve got the forward players who can hurt teams; we’re just missing a few goals just now.
“That’s all we’re needing; Apostolos [Stamatelopoulos] and Callum [Hendry] have been magnificent for us.”
Should Celtic allow Stephen Welsh leave the club permanently?
Watch Jens Berthel Askou speak about signing Stephen Welsh permanently from Celtic.
Other Celtic players out on loan
Celtic have a number of young players out on loan, but there are a few senior players playing elsewhere, including Maik Nawrocki, who has hit form for Hannover.
Luis Palma is also earning praise with his performances for Lech Poznan. The Polish side hold an option to buy on the Honduran, but they’d need to break their record transfer fee to trigger it.
Forgotten man Odin Thiago Holm has now returned to Glasgow after a dismal year at LAFC, which has seen him struggle with a rare muscle condition.
23-year-old defender Adam Montgomery is still on Celtic’s books, and was a mainstay on loan at Livingston before suffering an injury which has kept him out since October.
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