Celtic have made a blistering start to the January transfer window. The club were extremely swift to complete deals for the trio of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi. Then, they completed a move for Sligo Rovers’ highly-rated 18-year-old striker, Johnny Kenny. And now, rumours have emerged that they are closing in on a move for Australian international, Riley McGree.
On the other hand, there have been a couple of outgoings as well. Liam Shaw has joined Motherwell on loan in what could be a great move for his development.
On the other hand, Ewan Henderson has joined Hibernian on a loan deal till the end of the season which will become permanent in the summer.
It also appears that Udinese are seriously interested in Stephen Welsh. As reported by The Scottish Sun, the Italian club are set to return with a second offer for the Celtic defender after their initial loan bid with a buy option was turned down by the Hoops.
Celtic set to receive second transfer bid for first-team star
While Welsh might not be a regular in the starting XI yet, he has gotten significant playing time in Ange Postecoglou’s team this season.
According to stats from Transfermarkt, Welsh has made 19 appearances for Celtic in the 2021/22 campaign till now, featuring for 1692 minutes on the pitch in total.
Also, he is still just 21 years of age and has plenty of time on his hands to develop into a starter for Celtic. Although, with Carl Starfelt struggling for form recently, Welsh might have an opportunity around the corner already.
Welsh’s current deal is believed to run till the summer of 2025 and thus, Celtic should not be in any hurry to let him leave. On the other hand, Christopher Jullien looks set to make a return to the pitch soon as well, which will strength the club’s defence even further.