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Celtic: Alan Hutton singles out Stephen Welsh for praise
It’s been a crazy week for Celtic defender Stephen Welsh, who emerged from the shadows to start in the Old Firm derby and in the Europa League against AC Milan.
Despite the Hoops losing both matches at home, the 20-year-old can still be proud of his appearances. Indeed, he has come in for high praise from former Scotland full-back Alan Hutton.
What Hutton said about Celtic’s Stephen Welsh
The ex-Tottenham defender was asked by Football Insider whether he believes the Celtic youngster has a big future and said: “You’d like to think so. There’s no tougher test in Scotland than the Old Firm. To come out and handle himself the way he did was good. There was probably one or two things he could have done better but he’s young, he’ll learn.
“You need to get through these games to get the experience of what to do in these situations. He has good people around him that will obviously help him through.
“Overall he was one of only a few Celtic players that can be happy with his performance.”
A crazy seven days at Celtic for Welsh
Welsh’s appearance in the defeat to Rangers was just his second at senior level, with a third swiftly following against AC Milan. (Transfermarkt)
His statistics from those games highlight why Hutton was so full of praise for the 20-year-old. In the Old Firm derby, he made seven clearances and two interceptions and won one tackle, four of his six aerial duels and one ground duel. (SofaScore)
This backs up what Hutton was saying when he mentions that Welsh was among the few Celtic players who can take pride from the derby defeat. Indeed, Hoops manager Lennon has called the youngster a “strong boy” who is “aggressive” and “good on the ball as well”.
It has been an eventful week for the defensive prospect but he seems to have acquitted himself commendably.
In other news, one Celtic player has been criticised by a former Manchester United star for his recent performances. Have a read here!
