Neil Lennon’s Celtic have recalled Stephen Welsh from his loan away from Parkhead – and he will reportedly be immediately drafted into the Hoops first team.
Celtic academy defender Stephen Welsh has joined fellow youngster Ewan Henderson in returning to the Parkhead club after their stints away from the club were cut short.
While Henderson was getting little game time at Ross County, Welsh had pretty much nailed down a first-team spot at Greenock Morton for much of the season.
The 20-year-old started 17 consecutive matches for the Ton between August and December, although admittedly, he has played in just one of their three games so far this year (Transfermarkt).
While Celtic’s decision to recall Welsh initially baffled some of the Hoops faithful, Morton manager David Hopkin confirmed that Welsh will “immediately” go into the first team setup there.
Hopkin said Welsh was watched by his parent club recently, whose coaches were “very impressed” with how he had developed, and he could potentially be utilised by Neil Lennon against Ross County.
“Celtic have decided to recall Stephen early from his loan with us,” Hopkin told the Morton website. “The management team watched him recently and were very impressed with how he had developed as a player.
“He will go immediately into the first team set-up there and I am pleased that we were able to work with him and thankful to Celtic for giving us the opportunity. They have a few injuries at the moment therefore it’s the perfect chance for Stephen to be able to show what he can do and make an impression.
“His desire and determination have been excellent, and we have given him the experience of first team football in a very competitive league. Hopefully their injuries clear up and we are given the chance to take Stephen back on loan with us for the remainder of the season.”
Hopkin is yet to make a senior appearance for Celtic (Transfermarkt), and this could be his big opportunity to make a huge impact for his parent club – could this weekend mark the birth of a new star at Parkhead?
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