| Stephen Welsh | |
| Birth Date: | 19 January 2000[1] |
| Birth Place: | Coatbridge, Scotland[2] |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | Celtic |
| Clubnumber: | 57 |
| Youthclubs1: | Celtic |
| Years1: | 2019– |
| Clubs1: | Celtic |
| Caps1: | 41 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs2: | → Greenock Morton (loan) |
| Caps2: | 15 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2016–2017 |
| Nationalteam1: | Scotland U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017–2020 |
| Nationalteam2: | Scotland U19 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 13 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2021–2022 |
| Nationalteam3: | Scotland U21 |
| Nationalcaps3: | 9 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 18 May 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 22 March 2022 |
Stephen Welsh (born 19 January 2000) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Celtic.
Welsh began his career in the youth sides at Celtic, stepping up to their development side in 2017, and in March 2018, signed a contract with the club until 2020.[3] Alongside fixtures in the SPFL Development League, he featured for the team in the Scottish Challenge Cup.[4] [5]
On 29 August 2019, Welsh moved on a season-long loan to Scottish Championship club Greenock Morton.[6] He was recalled by Celtic during January 2020.[7] He made his first team debut for Celtic on 2 February 2020, in a 4–1 win away to Hamilton Academical.[8]
On 6 February 2021, Welsh scored the first senior goal of his career with a header from a David Turnbull corner in the opening minutes of a 2–1 league win against Motherwell.[9] On 13 April 2021, he signed a new contract with Celtic that is due to run until 2025.[10] On 9 December 2021, Welsh scored an early header against La Liga side Real Betis in a UEFA Europa League match where Celtic won 3–2 at Celtic Park in their last group-stage game in the competition that season.[11] [12]
On 31 July 2022, Welsh scored the first goal in Celtic's 2022–23 Scottish Premiership opener against Aberdeen in a 2–0 home win.[13] On 10 January 2022, it was reported that Serie A side Udinese had made a loan offer with an option to purchase attached for Welsh, which Celtic chose to reject.[14]
In the summer transfer window, Ligue 1 side Toulouse made an approach for Welsh. However, Celtic remained uninterested in selling the player as manager Ange Postecoglou saw him as being part of first-team plans.[15]
On 18 August 2023, Welsh signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027.[16]
Welsh has represented Scotland at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.[1] He captained the under-21 side on numerous occasions.[17] [18] On 10 June 2022, he played his final game for the under-21s against Denmark in a 1–1 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying draw where he faced Celtic teammate Matt O'Riley.[19] [20]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Celtic U20s[21] | 2017–18 | N/A | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 2018–19 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2019–20 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| Celtic | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[22] | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9[23] | 1 | 24 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Scottish Premiership | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[24] | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Scottish Premiership | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[25] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 41 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 66 | 4 | |||
| Greenock Morton (loan) | 2019–20 | Scottish Championship | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
| Career total | 56 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 88 | 5 | |||
Celtic