Celtic have decided against loaning Stephen Welsh out amidst interest from KV Mechelen. The Belgians had enquired about the Scottish defender’s availability but the club have rebuffed their approach.
As reported by Sky Sports News’ Anthony Joseph, Celtic have told the Belgians that they will not look to lose Welsh this window.
Welsh has made 66 appearances for Celtic since making his debut in February 2020. The central defender has scored four goals and assisted once and it was clear that the manager saw him as a supporting first team option, behind Cameron Carter-Vickers, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Maik Nawrocki. However, the emergence of Liam Scales along with Lagerbielke failing to impress saw the Academy graduate compete with Nawrocki for that role as the third CB last year.
The decision emphasises the manager’s decision to promote Welsh within the ranks and also to make Maik Nawrocki, Gustaf Lagerbielke and Yuki Kobayashi available for loan.
Celtic are in the market for a left-sided central defender to partner CCV, meaning that the manager would likely be reassessing his options at the back. Welsh is a homegrown talent and appears content to play a squad role. This makes him an ideal candidate at the moment but it might stunt his development into being a fully fledged first team candidate. This is an issue that the manager will need to weigh up before sanctioning a deal.