The Celtic fringe player transfer decision Bhoys must carefully consider

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Stephen Welsh looks set to receive January transfer interest, with clubs from England and Europe monitoring the Celtic defender.

At this moment in time, the academy graduate finds himself on the fringes of Ange Postecoglou’s squad, having made six appearances this season.

However, the club must carefully consider their next steps when it comes to the Scotland under-21 international’s future.

This isn’t the first time we have seen transfer interest arise in the centre-back, with the likes of Udinese and Toulouse previously making offers.

Loan moves to France and Italy, with the option to buy included in the deal, have been turned down by the club in the past, with Welsh being seen as a prospect for the future.

At 22-year-olds old, Welsh is very much in the position where he could still make a breakthrough at Parkhead by becoming the first choice option further down the line.

However, at this moment in time, he faces a tough task with Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt and Mortiz Jenz all ahead in the pecking order.

The signing of Yuki Kobayashi in the up-and-coming has also raised the question of what the future holds for the Scottish youngster.

With the January transfer window quickly approaching, it appears Celtic have an important decision on their hands regarding the defender’s future.

Loan move the next ideal step for Welsh as interested clubs line up moves.

With the winter window just weeks away from opening, clubs from across the continent could be preparing to line up a move for Welsh.

Whilst it is not yet clear which clubs are interested or if they will be looking to sign him on a permanent, his current position in the Celtic squad would suggest teams may be aiming to get a long-term deal tied up.

However, in my opinion, Ange Postecoglou and the Celtic hierarchy must carefully consider what the next step for Welsh is.

Of course, every player has their price, and if a high enough fee arrives for the one-time academy prospect, then I am sure most Celtic supporters would be understanding.

However, a loan move may be the best choice at this point in time to assess Welsh’s first team hopes for the near and distant future.

A similar move to Welsh’s fellow academy teammate Mikey Johnston, who is currently enjoying a spell out in Portugal, would be ideal to get a better grasp.

Another important factor Celtic may want to consider is that although we already have plenty of centre-back options, Welsh is the only one who fills the homegrown player rota.

So, overall, a loan move for the next six months to see how the talented defender will perform might be the best move before reconsidering once again in the summer.

Before the January window opens, the club must evaluate what the next steps for Stephen Welsh are. If they come to the agreement that it would be better to sell the defender on, then that is fair.

But a short-term loan move feels like the correct call at this point in time, leaving the door open for a future at Parkhead whilst Ange Postecoglou continues to assess Welsh’s first-team hopes.

In other news, Livingston boss believes Ange Postecoglou has added new dimension to Celtic.