57 # Stephen Welsh / Abwehr

[Gollum]

Stephen Welsh hungry for more opportunities

The entire Celtic team were disappointed by the abrupt end to last season, none more so than Stephen Welsh who had made his first-team debut in February and was hoping for more playing time during the remainder of the campaign. After making his first-team debut on February 2 in Celtic’s 4-1 away win to Hamilton Celtic’s latest Academy graduate had ambitions of further playing time before they were dashed when the season was brought to an abrupt halt in March. That breakthrough came on February 2 in Celtic’s 4-1 away win to Hamilton Accies, and the central defender impressed in his first outing. Now, having enjoyed pre-season with Neil Lennon’s first-team squad, the 20-year-old is looking forward to the competitive football starting and is ready to play his part as and when required.
“This was the third pre-season I’ve been on with the first-team and the biggest difference this year has been the level of opposition we’ve played,” said Welsh in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “Usually we’ll play a few local, lower level teams in Austria but this summer we were facing Champions League sides like Lyon and PSG.
“That’s what we need going into this season. They were preparing for Champions League games and cup games so they were around the same stage of preseason as us. I felt we did okay in the games, especially younger boys like myself. I thought everyone handled it really well.”
Welsh believes the experience of playing against such high-level opposition in pre-season will be hugely beneficial for his development, and he is hopeful that it will help him chase down his goals this season.
“We’ll learn more in that 60 minutes against opposition like that than we would two or three games against opposition teams,” said Welsh. “I feel a lot more comfortable in and around the players because I’ve been involved with the first team for a couple of years now. That time around them means you become familiar with the expectations on and off the pitch. It’s about working hard every day.
“The expectation at the club is absolutely massive. I’ve been here since I was eight-years-old so I’m aware of the standards and the targets which is three points in every game. That’s what it’s all about at a top club like Celtic.”

[Gollum]

Erstes Pflichtspieltor in den Hoops gegen Motherwell gestern und dazu noch MotM. Der Junge ist eine der positiven Erscheinungen der letzten Wochen.

Celtic TV - Stephen Welsh On the Match

Stephen Welsh and the key quality that Celtic centre-back can exploit as Greg Taylor tips youngster for the top
The defender bagged his first goal for the club in Saturday's win over Motherwell and is already a leader.

[Gollum]

Stephen Welsh signs new four-year contract
Celtic are delighted to announce that Stephen Welsh has signed a new four-year contract which will see him remain at the club until at least the summer of 2025. The 21-year-old centre-back has been with the club for well over a decade, having progressed through the Celtic Youth Academy ranks and into the first-team squad. Welsh made his first-team debut last season in a 4-1 away win over Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership in February, 2020. The young defender has since progressed well in the senior side – becoming a regualr in the starting XI since the turn of the year, and featuring against the likes of AC Milan and Lille during this season’s UEFA Europa League campaign.
“I’m delighted to get it done and I’m here for another four years which is the perfect scenario for me,” said Welsh in an exclusive interview with Celtic TV.
“I’ve been getting a consistent run of regular games since the Christmas period there. For me, it’s just about keeping that up, keep doing it, keep playing well until the end of the season.”

Celtic TV Exclusive: Welsh commits his future in ‘perfect scenario’ deal


Gute Nachricht, hat der Junge sich mit seinen Leistungen in den letzten Wochen echt verdient.

[Gollum]

Stephen Welsh receives Scotland under-21 call-up
The Celtic star has impressed for Celtic this season and he's in line to make his under-21 debut.

GlĂŒckwunsch. Die sonstige Zusammensetzung des Kaders sollte uns allerdings schon etwas Sorgen machen finde ich.

[Lubo]

Stephen Welsh receives Scotland under-21 call-up
The Celtic star has impressed for Celtic this season and he's in line to make his under-21 debut.

GlĂŒckwunsch. Die sonstige Zusammensetzung des Kaders sollte uns allerdings schon etwas Sorgen machen finde ich.

Mich wĂŒrde mal interessieren, ob er sich bei anderen Clubs ebenfalls durchsetzen wĂŒrde bzw. wie er sich im Vergleich z. B. zu einem Kerr von St Johnstone, einem Porteous von den Hibs oder einem Gallagher schlĂ€gt.

Was meint ihr??

[Gollum]

Eine gute Frage, die ich mir auch schon öfter gestellt habe, wieviel der Spielzeit, die er diese Saison bekommen hat, war am Ende nur der mangelnden Konkurrenz geschuldet (Jullien verletzt, Duffy ein Ausfall etc.)?

Ich sehe bei ihm schon noch das ein oder andere Fragezeichen im physisch/athletischen Bereich. Ansonsten spielt er fĂŒr sein Alter schon ziemlich ruhig und abgeklĂ€rt, gerade fĂŒr eine Position, auf der Erfahrung und Routine besonders wichtig sind. Dadurch, und weil er einfach wenig krasse Fehler und Aussetzer in seinem Spiel hat (da hatten wir mitunter ganz andere Kandidaten zu bestaunen in den letzten Jahren), sehe ich bei ihm schon eine relativ hohe Baseline. Ich könnte mir aber schon vorstellen, dass die physischen Limitierungen sein Ceiling am Ende doch stark begrenzen. Aber mindestens als Kaderspieler dĂŒrfte er in den nĂ€chsten Jahren schon eine gute Rolle spielen bei uns denke ich.

[Gollum]

Ange delighted with Stephen Welsh’s progress and Under-21 call-up
Stephen Welsh, along with Adam Montgomery, has been included in Scot Gemmill’s Scotland Under-21 squad for their European qualifier in Turkey on September 7, and Ange Postecoglou is thrilled that the Celtic youngster is getting that recognition. The 21-year-old has been a regular this term under the Aussie and he has risen to every test put before him in what has been a testing, but fruitful and entertaining start to the term that continues later today (Saturday) with the visit of St Mirren.

Welsh ist bisher der stĂ€rkste Innenverteidiger der Saison bei uns, zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt deutlich sicherer als Starfelt. Ich bin mal gespannt, wie unser Abwehrzentrum aussehen wird, wenn Jullien irgendwann wieder zurĂŒckkehrt.

[Gollum]

FĂŒr einen IV natĂŒrlich ein gutes Zeichen, wenn ein italienischer Verein anklopft...

Celtic ace Stephen Welsh’s rise from Morton thrashing to Udinese transfer interest has been brilliant, says Chris Millar
STEPHEN WELSH sat slumped in the dressing room gutted after his professional debut ended in a 5-0 drubbing. If anyone at that moment had told Welsh a SERIE A club would one day want him then there would have been disbelief. The Celtic defender’s rise since that humbling on loan at Morton against Inverness Caley over two years ago has been stunning. Chris Millar was in the same Ton side that day — and he reckons the youngster’s attitude is at the heart of it all. From a Championship slaughtering on August 30, 2019, to the point on Friday when Udinese tried to take him to one of the biggest leagues in world football. It’s been some story for Scotland Under-21 ace Welsh.

[Gollum]

Stephen Welsh delighted to commit his future to Celtic
Stephen Welsh has signed a new four-year deal which will see him remain at Celtic until the summer of 2027. The 23-year-old defender came through the club’s Youth Academy and made his first-team debut in an away league game against Hamilton Accies back in February 2020. To date he has made 53 appearances for Celtic, the most recent coming in last weekend’s 3-1 victory against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, when he came on for the second-half of the game. He’s also netted four goals for the Hoops.

Celtic TV - Exclusive Interview: Stephen Welsh signs a new Celtic contract until 2027


Kommt sicher etwas ĂŒberraschend, aber Rodgers hĂ€lt wohl sehr viel von ihm. Hat ihn sehr gelobt, nachdem er am letzten Wochenende zur Halbzeit CCV ersetzt hat: “I thought he was excellent when he came in. I like Stephen. I took him with me one pre-season as a young player because I really liked him but for whatever reason he maybe hasn’t played the games. He is a Celtic boy, he wants to be at the club, I want him to be at the club. I said to him I can’t guarantee how many games you are going to play, he may play 40 games in the season, but I know he is always ready. He trains really hard every day. He came into the game and played with composure. He’s aggressive.”

Und nicht zuletzt brauchen wir auch einfach ein paar EigengewĂ€chse im Kader fĂŒr die Homegrown Players Liste fĂŒr die internationalen Wettbewerbe. Wir schmĂŒcken uns ja immernoch sehr mit Forrest und McGregor (zurecht, sind ja auch echte Erfolgsgeschichten) aber dahinter sieht es schon seit lĂ€ngerem echt dĂŒnn aus, und Forrest kommt inzwischen ja auch in die Jahre. So betrachtet ergibt die VerlĂ€ngerung mit Welsh schon Sinn, trotzdem wird er ektuell nur Innenverteidiger Nummer vier sein hinter CCV, Nawrocki und Lagerbielke. Und eigentlich brĂ€uchte der Junge mal konstant Spielzeit, um sein volles Potential zu entfalten.

[Gollum]

Stephen Welsh blow as Celtic star's injury timeline revealed amid mounting defensive crisis for Brendan Rodgers
Stephen Welsh will be sidelined for at least two months - leaving Celtic facing a defensive crisis. Cameron Carter-Vickers is already out for a few weeks with a hamstring issue and now Welsh also faces a long spell on the sidelines. The home-grown defender suffered ligament damage in his ankle after an accidental training ground clash on Friday. The 23-year-old was sent for a scan yesterday and they have confirmed that he will be out for at least eight weeks - if not longer. It means that Welsh will miss a major chunk of domestic games and the start of the Champions League. It is a major blow for Welsh, who penned a new long-term contract on Friday, and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.

Gerade erst die VertragsverlÀngerung und dann sowas, richtig bitter!

[Big John]

Stephen Welsh blow as Celtic star's injury timeline revealed amid mounting defensive crisis for Brendan Rodgers
Stephen Welsh will be sidelined for at least two months - leaving Celtic facing a defensive crisis. Cameron Carter-Vickers is already out for a few weeks with a hamstring issue and now Welsh also faces a long spell on the sidelines. The home-grown defender suffered ligament damage in his ankle after an accidental training ground clash on Friday. The 23-year-old was sent for a scan yesterday and they have confirmed that he will be out for at least eight weeks - if not longer. It means that Welsh will miss a major chunk of domestic games and the start of the Champions League. It is a major blow for Welsh, who penned a new long-term contract on Friday, and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.

Gerade erst die VertragsverlÀngerung und dann sowas, richtig bitter!

Schade fĂŒr den Lhad... Rodgers scheint mit ihm zu planen und ihn als Back-Up zu sehen.... In Aberdeen hatte er es gut gemacht.