Opinion: Celtic stars must up game as 22-year-old waits in the wings

After performing so well for much of the season, it has to be a bit of a concern for Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou to see his centre-back duo of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Startfelt go off the boil recently.

In the last three games the duo have played together, Celtic have conceded eight goals, with three of those coming in the Europa Conference League defeat to Bodo/Glimt.

There was always going to be a spell where performance levels could slightly dip, but with so many games on the horizon, the Hoops centre-back duo need to get back to their best as soon as possible.

Another reason that the duo need to up their game is that Stephen Welsh is waiting in the wings. The 22-year-old central defender has been in and out of the Hoops first-team so far this season, making 21 appearances thus far.

Interestingly, Welsh did start alongside Carter-Vickers in the recent Scottish Cup win over Raith, and the duo helped Celtic keep a clean sheet in the game, although it has to be said that the Championship side weren’t the most difficult opponents.

Welsh might have some big decisions to make in the summer if he isn’t able to get a run of games before the end of the season. At his age, 22-years-old, it isn’t really doing him any good to be sitting on the bench most weeks, he will get to improve his game by playing regular football, and at the moment that isn’t guaranteed at Celtic.

Welsh was linked with a move away from Celtic in the January transfer window, with the Hoops reportedly rejecting a loan bid from Italian side Udinese. It will interesting to see if the Serie A side return for Welsh in the summer transfer window, and if the player is interested in moving to Italy.

That could depend on just how many games Welsh plays