Partick Thistle set to sign Hibs midfielder on loan

By Graham Fraser
Sean Welsh: Hibs midfielder will be at Firhill until the summer.© SNS Group

Partick Thistle has agreed a deal to sign Hibs midfielder Sean Welsh on loan until the end of the current campaign.

Manager Jackie McNamara confirmed the news as the club signed a sponsorship deal with Glasgow legal firm Just Employment Law.

Welsh was in the headlines for the wrong reasons last summer when he was involved in a training ground bust-up with fellow Hibs midfielder Martin Scott, which left the 21-year-old with a fractured cheekbone.

McNamara now hopes he can fill the boots of Rangers midfielder Kyle Hutton, who spent the first half of this season on loan at Firhill.

He told STV: "He was training today and hopefully we will get that tied up as soon as possible. The deal has been agreed, but we need to sign everything. He can play a number of positions, anywhere in the midfield, he can play right back.

"Essentially, he is coming here to play midfield. He is a good passer of the ball and can score goals as well. I think we have missed Kyle Hutton a bit in the middle, that calmness and the range of passing, so hopefully Sean can come and do that for us."

Welsh spent part of last year on loan at Stirling, where he started 15 times and scored one goal. He signed a two-year deal with the struggling SPL side in the summer.

On transfer deadline day last week, Thistle midfielder Iain Flannigan was released from his contract while 19-year-old defender Johnny Lindsay joined Brechin City on loan until the end of the season.

McNamara added: "It is good for Johnny to get experience, he has been waiting. In his position, it is unfortunate that Aaron Sinclair has been outstanding this year for us."

The Jags manager said he was pleased to have kept Sinclair, whose form at left back in his debut season as a professional has sparked interest from other clubs.

The manager said: "He has only been full time since the summer, his first full season, and everybody is talking about him. It says a lot for him, and he is only going to get better. He has got plenty of time to get a move. It will do him good to play for the rest of the season."

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