Report: Celtic reject loan offer for defender; £3.5m clause

By John McGinley

July 29, 2022

Celtic have rejected a firm bid from Ligue 1 side Toulouse for defender Stephen Welsh, Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph has reported this afternoon.

Joseph believes the French club tabled a season-long loan deal with an option-to-buy at £3.5m, with add-ons in tow.

However, the Bhoys have rejected the offer and don’t want to sell the young defender, who is used as a squad option under Ange Postecoglou.

Welsh is seen as a cover option for Celtic at the moment but did play 24 games last season and is likely to get a similar amount of time in the team over the next 12 months.

He is trusted by the manager and is even likely to be in place as a starter in the Scottish Premiership opener this weekend due to Carl Starfelt’s injury issues.

Some might argue this is good money for an academy player that can be reinvested into the team, but it seems that the manager has plans for him and wants him around.

The fact he is ahead of Christopher Jullien in Postecoglou’s rankings speaks volumes for me – Welsh must be acquitting himself in training well and attacking the tasks given to him by the coaching staff.

It can be all too easy to be critical of homegrown talents but Welsh has looked sharp in pre-season, fully buying into Postecoglou’s preference for quick, forward-thinking ball progression from the back.

Whether the French club come in with a higher offer remains to be seen, but it seems it’ll take a very impressive bid to convince Celtic to sever the relationship with Welsh.

In other news, Ange Postecoglou confirms 2 missing for Celtic vs Aberdeen with squad update.