Celtic player tipped to leave after January signings

Celtic have continued to strengthen their squad continuously since Ange Postecoglou arrived as the manager in the summer of 2021. Over the past four transfer windows, the roster has undergone a major overhaul and other than Callum McGregor and Greg Taylor, there is no regular starter at Parkhead who has not been signed during that period of time.

Of course, so many additions have meant that most of the players already at the club have continuously slipped down the pecking order and struggled for playing time.

These include some very highly rated players but for some of them, it might be time to leave in search of regular minutes elsewhere. Stephen Welsh falls under that category.

Welsh has drawn interest from abroad in the past as well but back then, the club seemed to resist any offers for the Scottish defender. The situation seems to have changed since then though, and now, it seems that the Hoops are much more open to the idea of him leaving if recent rumours are accurate. On the other hand, as reported by Football Insider, Frank McAvennie said:

"“Stephen will be passed down the pecking order. He has done a great job for Celtic but at times, coming up against good players, he seems inexperienced.“I think he is a good backup. He will be a great player for another team. The way Celtic play, he has been caught a few times.“If he goes somewhere else and plays every week he will become better. I do not want anyone to leave Celtic but I think Stephen will want to play football. I think he is going to go sooner rather than later.“"

Celtic player tipped to leave after latest January signings

This January, Celtic have made three signings. Yuki Kobayashi is a centre-back, while Tomoki Iwata is capable of playing in the heart of defence as well and some believe it to be his best position. And Alistair Johnston can play as part of a three-man backline too.

Welsh already had Cameron Carter-Vickers, Carl Starfelt and Moritz Jenz ahead of him in the pecking order as well. Thus, playing time will be even more difficult to come by moving forward.

Thus, a Parkhead exit might be the best step for him at this stage. There is no doubt that Welsh is a great talent and capable of producing some brilliant performances on his day. But he just does not have the experience or consistency yet to be a starter for Celtic on a regular basis.