Stephen Welsh has seen some good times at Celtic over his career so far. With two league titles and two league cups to his name, the 23-year-old has had a fair bit of success at the club since being promoted from the Celtic youths.
A debutant under Neil Lennon in 2020 in a 4-1 win over Hamilton, Welsh has gone on to make 52 appearances for the club since then.
But under Ange Postecoglou, the former Scottish u21 international has seen his appearances in a Celtic jersey take a sharp nose dive. Granted, recent injury issues haven’t helped.
But with Tomoki Iwata being preferred to partner Carl Starfelt in the centre of defence, what does that mean for the young Scot moving forward?
Welsh made the bench for the away defeat to Hibs and the 5-0 mauling of Aberdeen on Trophy Day but didn’t see any minutes on the pitch.
With Yuki Kobayashi struggling for form, I would have assumed that in the final two games of the season, Welsh would have gotten some gametime. But it wasn’t to be. Ange gave Iwata the nod to partner Carl Starfelt in the final game of the season, with Kobayashi preferred for the clash against Hibs before that.
Having signed a new four-year deal in 2021, the future looked promising for Welsh and in Ange’s first season, the young defender made 24 appearances for Celtic. But the signings of Moritz Jenz and Yuki Kobayashi this season meant that he fell even further behind the pecking order. [Transfermarkt]
Where does Stephen Welsh’s Celtic future lie?
Who knows. Cameron Carter-Vickers is due to return to first-team action at the beginning of next season. And barring any transfer shocks, he will resume his partnership with Carl Starfelt.
Assuming Yuki Kobayashi will be the third-choice centre-back, Welsh may not even make the bench for much of Celtic’s games next season.
Also, Liam Scales looks set to return to Celtic as is Osaze Urhoghide but the assumption would be that those two will be moved on unless Ange Postecoglou sees a huge improvement in them since their year-long loan moves.
I would love to see Welsh become a regular at Celtic. There is nothing better than seeing an academy player come through the ranks and become a first-team regular. The defender’s Trophy Day celebrations show he clearly still feels a part of the squad.
Ange clearly sees something in the young Scot. He wouldn’t have knocked back a transfer move in January otherwise. But looking at the hurdles he would need to overcome, it is highly unlikely Welsh will split our current central defensive partnership and loan move next season may well beckon.
In other news, “He is really tidy on the ball” – Carl Starfelt’s brilliant defence of Celtic teammate
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