Celtic have rejected an offer for Stephen Welsh.

What's the talk?

That's according to a claim made by Anthony Joseph, with the Sky Sports journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Celtic have knocked back an offer from Udinese for the 21-year-old centre-back.

Joseph goes on to state that the Serie A side had enquired about taking the Scotland U21 international on an initial loan deal with an option to buy, however, Ange Postecoglou rejected the bid as he is keen to keep the defender - who only signed a new four-year deal with the Bhoys last year - at Parkhead.

In his tweet, the journalist said: "Celtic have knocked back an approach from Udinese for defender Stephen Welsh. It's understood the Serie A club enquired about taking the 21-year-old on loan, with an option to buy. But Celtic are keen to keep the centre-back, who signed a new four-year contract in April 2021."

Disaster for Celtic

While it does not appear as if Postecoglou has any intention of parting with Welsh this month, should the club go on to be tempted into the sale of the centre-back as a result of a sizeable offer, the youngster's departure would undoubtedly be something of a disaster for the Bhoys.

Indeed, over his nine Premiership appearances so far this season, the £1.35m-rated defender has been in exceptional form for the Hoops, helping his side keep three clean sheets and registering one assist, as well as making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 85.9 passes, 2.2 clearances and winning 5.1 duels per game.

These returns have seen the player who Greg Taylor dubbed a "superb" talent average a highly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Postecoglou's 10th-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football - of players who remain a part of Celtic's first-team squad.

However, it is not only domestically that Welsh has impressed, with the 21-year-old scoring one goal and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.07 over his three outings in the Europa League this season.

As such, it is clear for all to see that the defender is a player with an incredibly bright future at Parkhead, which is exactly why losing his services so soon into his Hoops career would be a nightmare for the Postecoglou and the club.

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