Swansea City complete first summer signing as Celtic star reveals why he's joined
The 26-year-old has signed a two-year deal at the club
Swansea City have completed their first signing of the summer after landing defender Stephen Welsh on a free transfer.
The 26-year-old centre-back has penned a two-year deal with the Swans, with the option of another 12 months, and joins after leaving Scottish champions Celtic by mutual consent.
The former Scotland Under-21 international spent last season on loan at Motherwell, where he emerged as one of the club's top performers, helping them to an impressive fourth-place finish in the Scottish Premiership.
Welsh made 29 appearances for Motherwell in total, but has now opted for a new chapter in his career in the Championship.
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The centre-back did still have another 12 months to run on his contract at boyhood club Celtic, but has been allowed to leave in search of more regular football.
Having come through the youth ranks at Parkhead, Welsh made 70 first-team appearances for Celtic, winning nine trophies during that time.
He also featured in the Europa League and Champions League for them.
Welsh had previously also enjoyed loan spells with Greenock Morton and Belgian side Mechelen.
Speaking about his arrival, which will be made official on July 1, boss Vitor Matos said: “Stephen is an experienced player, who will add quality to our squad.
“He is calm, mobile and used to playing for teams who look to be dominant with and without the ball.
“We are really pleased to have come to an agreement, and we are looking forward to starting work with him during pre-season."
Commenting on why he decided to make the move to south Wales, Welsh added: “I am delighted to be joining Swansea, it’s a big club with a proud history.
“They made it clear that they really wanted me, and with the way the head coach spoke about the club, the environment he wants to create and the way he wants to play; it was a no-brainer.
“The Championship is a brilliant division, and one I am excited to be playing my football in and challenging myself in. I have experience but I am also young enough to be ready for a new opportunity and a new chapter in my career.
“I am really looking forward to getting to south Wales and playing in front of the supporters.
“I hope we can improve on last season and achieve what we want to, because we have got some great players here and the plans for the future are exciting.”
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