Some Celtic fans have been hailing young defender Stephen Welsh after the club’s 4-1 win over Hamilton in the Premiership on Sunday.
The Hoops moved seven points clear at the top of the table on Sunday, as Rangers dropped points at the weekend. For Neil Lennon’s men, Odsonne Edouard got a brace as they saw off 10-man Hamilton to take full advantage.
Is Welsh better than Ajer?
Not yet, Ajer is better
Welsh is better, anyday
The game though, also saw young Welsh make a start in the defence. And many Hoops fans had praise for him when the club posted a message on Twitter following his debut.
And jumps straight ahead of Jozo in the pecking order.
— Liam (@LK95_) February 2, 2020
Never put a foot wrong, strolled through his debut. Well done young fella!
— Terence Kelly (@TerenceKellySnr) February 2, 2020
Solid. No messing about
— Chris Doh! (@weecdoh) February 2, 2020
Had a brilliant debut
never put a foot wrong &
looked like you were a regular in the team.
Well done Welshy#Composure #COYBIG— The Bolingoli Buddha (@moggy1888) February 2, 2020
Never put a foot wrong, silenced the doubters, here’s to many more starts Stephen
— Danny (@DannyMax1888) February 2, 2020
Always gonna b dyno w that name
— Paul Welsh (@paulstevenwelsh) February 2, 2020
Best Celtic defender on the park today
— Barry McGarahan (@ohnofire) February 2, 2020
Welsh, who is valued at £45k (as per Transfermarkt), is only 20 and was on loan at Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton till the end of 2019, before returning to Parkhead in the second half of the campaign.
For Morton, Welsh was a regular at the back. He made 15 appearances in the Championship for the club, scoring once. He made three appearances in the cup for the club. 14 of his appearances came at right-back, with seven coming from centre-back.
Before moving to Morton in the summer of 2019, Welsh had played every single minute of Celtic’s two games in the Challenge Cup for the reserves, and both came in the centre-back position.
What do we think?
Celtic playing a three-at-the-back shape allows Welsh a spot in the first-team. Considering he was on the bench against Ross County, it shows that he can be involved in the first-team going forward.