Stephen Welsh is reportedly set to join Swansea City after leaving Celtic.
A successful season on loan at Motherwell was the best of his career so far, as the Steelmen earned plaudits for finishing fourth with a dominant brand of football.
Upon the end of the season, Welsh and Celtic mutually agreed to part ways, making him available on a free transfer. The agreement was reportedly a ‘goodwill gesture’ from the club.
A move to South Wales now seems to be on his radar, with the Swans reportedly agreeing a deal to sign him.
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Stephen goes Welsh: set to join Swansea City upon Celtic expiry on July 1
According to Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports, Welsh is expected to join the Championship club when his Celtic contract is terminated at the end of this month.
He has agreed a two-year deal with the option of a further year at the Swansea.com stadium.
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He will reunite with Adam Idah in South Wales; the pair were friendly at Celtic. The Irishman has not hit the heights since making his £7 million exit from Glasgow.
Welsh made 30 appearances on loan at Fir Park, earning calls for a Scotland call-up with his form. He was one of many players given a new lease of life under Jens Berthel Askou.
He reportedly had interest from France and Poland upon his mutual termination; he came close to joining Udinese a few years ago.
A Parkhead academy graduate, Welsh made over 70 appearances across six years at the Hoops. For much of his time at the club, he was a reliable back-up player.
It wasn’t until he moved on loan to Mechelen in Belgium last January that his situation changed. Both there and with the Steelmen, he was a regular starter.
Speaking earlier in the season about his Motherwell loan, Welsh stated that he felt he was ‘proving a point’ with his form.
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Stephen Welsh on ‘proving a point’ at Motherwell
He said: “As a footballer that’s all you want, to play and have moments like that.
“It’s no secret it’s hard to come through at a club like Celtic. To play the amount of games I have there, I’m very proud of that.
“But I’m a realist as well. A lot of different players came in. So I took it upon myself to go out on loan abroad last year.
“When I came back, I made the decision to come here because I could see the manager’s vision. To actually come back a second time is even sweeter.
“After how well we’d done before New Year, it was a big disappointment that I had to go away. To come back, have my first game and experience such a good moment is great.
“There’s a lot of good players at Celtic, they’ve spent a lot of money on defenders.
“So I won’t make excuses. I just wanted to play football and I made that very clear to the club and thankfully they let me do that again.
“As a footballer you’re always trying to prove a point. It doesn’t matter who you are, even if you’re the best in the world.
“You still want to prove a point to someone. I feel like that’s what I’ve done.”
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