Anthony Joseph discloses Stephen Welsh’s Interest for January

Stephen Welsh, a Celtic defender, was playing admirably until he was substituted in December’s Glasgow Derby victory. The centre-half was injured near the end of the first half, but the Hoops went on to win, much to his relief.

Welsh returned to action last month against Buckie Thistle, and he came off the bench in Saturday’s draw with Aberdeen, replacing Maik Nawrocki moments after he narrowly avoided being sent off. However, if things had turned out differently in January, the Scotland youth international might not have played for the Hoops at all.

There were a few departures last month as the Celtic squad shed deadwood, but Welsh remained. Indeed, every centre-back in the team remained at the club due to Brendan Rodgers’ extensive injury problems in that position this season.
Gustaf Lagerbielke appeared to be on his way out, though his interest in Welsh went largely unnoticed. In previous windows, there was talk of an academy graduate leaving.

This January, there was renewed interest. According to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, “Stephen Welsh, I understand Celtic very quickly turned down a loan with an option to buy bid from a team in Germany” (The Celtic Exchange Podcast).

“The European leagues in Italy, France, and Germany like Stephen Welsh for a variety of reasons, as do Celtic.

“So they’ve kept them, signed him to a new contract, and they’re in a strong position. But I believe we will see more interest in Welsh in the summer.”

When fit, Rodgers has five centre-backs to choose from. Managers typically have four first-team options at any given time, but given the injury issues, keeping five for the second half of the season is understandable.

The latest transfer interest in Welsh doesn’t come as much of a surprise and in a few months, it will inevitably re-surface.

in other news, Hatate breaks Celtic silence following Japan’s injury blow.