Would you accept a bid of £1.6m for Stephen Welsh? No thought not. £16m maybe. It would have to be considered but Celtic will must have had zero hesitation in rejecting the bid from Udinese for the Celtic Academy graduate, now a first team regular and the captain of the Scotland Under 21 side.
Yet £1.6m, that’s the fee Italian publication Messaggero Veneto is stating Italian side Udinese have been quoted to secure the services of Celtic’s 21 year old defender. Do you believe that? No?
Udinese of course have already been rebuffed once by Celtic, with an attempt to get Welsh on loan with an option to buy, but such a low fee is unlikely to turn the head of Ange Postecoglou if they come calling again surely?
After all Stephen Welsh is very much needed, very much part of the plans and has shown a great deal of ability when he has been called upon. At the moment Celtic have the best defensive record in the top flight and Welsh has more than played his part, and his continuing development show he’s far from reached his ceiling.
Cameron Carter Vickers, despite being in talks over a permanent switch, still remains a Spurs player and with Carl Starfelt still to convince entirely as a Celtic first team player, Welsh has very much been the go-to guy should injury or suspension hit – and he’s let no-one down.
Add to that Chris Jullien is only now returning from a horrific knee injury sustained in the final game of last 2020, and therefore a gamble to be considered a secure defensive alternative at present, then there seems no way an exit for Stephen Welsh should be considered, especially to a club who appear to undervalue the players worth.
Celtic must stand firm on this one. As an Academy graduate, Welsh is one of the players those plying their trade in the Academy system and Celtic B team will be looking to as evidence they too can make the grade, and to see such limited gametime before being judged as surplus to requirements would not send the right kind of message to those looking to break through. After all Celtic have lost the likes of Barry Hepburn and Liam Morrison in recent years and we need to evidence, even if you make the first team squad, that time and patience is afforded to young players.
There may well come a day when Stephen Welsh moves on, but to Udinese and at £1.6m, this is not the time and that is not the price Celtic will be looking for. Give him another couple of seasons learning the ropes and maturing as a player and Celtic could be looking at four, five or ten times that figure, and let’s be honest here there are plenty in the bloated first team squad worth moving on before we ever get to Stephen Welsh.
Niall J
And for those who missed this one yesterday on The Celtic Star, here’s a catch-up chance to check out the photographs given to this site by the former Celtic Director Tom Grant of the demolition of the old Celtic Park and in its place the emergence of the New Celtic Park which we know and love today. These photographs are fascinating and well worth checking out on the link below…
READ THIS…Exclusive – A Phoenix Rising, a House of Steel. Celtic Park Redevelopment Photographs
