'Celtic have knocked back an approach' from Serie A side Udinese for centre-back Stephen Welsh, according to Sky Sports' Anthony Joseph. 

The lowdown

Welsh came through the youth ranks at Celtic and has now played 41 senior games for The Hoops.

He's featured nine times in the Scottish Premiership this season, including back-to-back starts prior to the winter break, and eight times in European competition (including qualifiers).

The 21-year-old is thought to earn £3,600 per week and is valued at around £1.3million by Transfermarkt.

The latest

'It's understood' that Udinese approached Celtic over taking Welsh on loan with an option to buy, Joseph reports for Sky,

However, 'Celtic are keen' to keep hold of him and they've rebuffed the interest.

Joseph points out that Welsh signed a new four-year contract as recently as April 2021.

The verdict

It's no surprise that Celtic are reluctant to potentially lose Welsh. The Scottish Under-21 international could well establish himself as a key player at Parkhead in the coming years if he continues to improve.

He's performed reasonably well when called upon this season, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.1/10 and winning just shy of 60 per cent of his duels overall.

The 'excellent' Welsh, hailed as such by pundit Paul John Dykes, will hope that he can earn even more frequent starting opportunities from Ange Postecoglou in the second half of the campaign.

In other news, a fresh update has emerged on an attacking target.