There have been quite a few exits from Celtic already this month. The biggest has without doubt been the departure of Josip Juranovic to join Union Berlin, with the Bundesliga side putting up an unexpected title challenge and sitting just a point behind Bayern Munich. Scott Robertson has reunited with Scott Brown at Fleetwood Town. Moritz Jenz’s loan spell was cut short as well. And it still remains unclear what the future holds for Giorgos Giakoumakis.
One player who looks set to stay put at Parkhead for the time being though is Stephen Welsh, even though he is far down the centre-back pecking order at this point of time.
Earlier in the month, there had been suggestions that the club were ready to listen to offers for Welsh. But the situation seems to have changed since then.
As tweeted out by Anthony Joseph, it is unlikely that Welsh will be leaving Celtic before tonight’s deadline. His situation will be reassessed in the summer.
Celtic have made transfer U-turn with player now looking set to stay
It does feel like the departure of Jenz might have played a part in the club’s decision to hold on to Welsh for the time being.
At this point of time, it is hard to see him get many first-team chances. Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers are the first-choice duo in the heart of defence, while Yuki Kobayashi and Tomoki Iwata can play there as well.
Welsh is capable of putting in superb performances on his day and is a big talent without doubt. But the problem is, he does not have the kind of consistency required to be a Celtic starter right now.
That will come only with experience and perhaps a move away might have helped him get to that level. But with Jenz leaving, it appears that he is set to stay put at Parkhead.