Sky Sport’s Anthony Joseph has been speaking about the rumours linking Celtic centre back Stephen Welsh away from the club.
The player is once again being linked with moves away, with interest from various different clubs, including in the MLS.
In previous windows, Celtic have rejected loan offers with options to buy for Welsh from Toulouse and Udinese, including a £3.5m option to buy.
Interestingly though, Joseph confirmed that Welsh “does have desires to move abroad.”
Speaking to Celtic Fans TV about the interest in Welsh, Joseph stated:
“Celtic’s position on Stephen Welsh has changed a bit compared to last year and also in the summer.”
“They’re now willing to listen to offers for him if any clubs come in.”
“We know there’s interest from the MLS and other clubs in Europe as well.”
“My understanding is that Ange is a fan of Welsh. He likes the way he trains, he likes his attitude, he likes his willingness to learn.”
“We actually saw that with Celtic’s reluctance to let him go last January, and in the summer.”
“In the summer, Celtic knocked back a season long loan bid, with an option to buy for £3.5m for Welsh, from Toulouse, and in January last year, Celtic knocked back an offer from Udinese.”
“They clearly wanted to keep him. They clearly thought there was potential there, or that he’s good cover to have, he’s a good backup.”
So what’s changed?
“I think they are thinking more now about the welfare and the career progression of the player.”
“As much as they like him and as much as they’d like to have him around, they also understand Welsh’s needs and desires to play regular first team football and to go and progress his own career.”
“He does have desires to also play abroad.”
It’s very interesting to hear that Welsh has desires to play abroad.
It’s not typical of a Scottish player to want to do that, but we have seen a change over the last couple of years, especially with several young Scottish players making the move to Italy’s Serie A from the SPFL and doing very well.
Welsh would perhaps be looking to do the same. I certainly think that would be better for him than going to the MLS.
You can see the full video interview here: Are Celtic Closing in on Gue-Sung Cho? |Transfer Show with Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph – YouTube
