Young Liverpool midfielder John Welsh has joined Hull City on a season-long loan deal in a bid to get some valuable first team experience under his belt. Welsh, 21, will link up with his England under-21 boss Peter Taylor at the KC Stadium and he admits he's excited at the prospect of joining up with the Championship side.
"I'm delighted with the deal," he told Liverpoolfc.tv today. "Hull is a big club and I know the manager Peter Taylor well from the England under-21 set-up. It's a good move for me at this stage of my career and I'm just looking to get some first team games under my belt and gain some valuable experience."
A graduate of the Liverpool Academy, Welsh has been with the Reds since the age of ten and has worked his way up through the ranks. He made his first team debut under the managership of Gerard Houllier in a League Cup tie at home to Ipswich Town in 2003 and has made ten senior appearances in total.
A lifelong Liverpool fan, Welsh signed a new contract at Anfield only last season but was told by Rafael Benitez during the summer that the club were open to offers for him.
Yet despite stepping down a division to join the Tigers the former Reds reserve captain insists he's not giving up on his Anfield dream entirely and cites Stephen Warnock as an example why.
"I'm not sure what the future holds for me at Liverpool but I haven't given up hope of coming back and making it," he adds.
"I know it's going to be difficult because there are so many good players at the club but Stephen Warnock is a good example of a player going out on loan then coming back to establish himself in the first team squad."
Welsh, who drove over to Hull this afternoon to finalise his move, continued: "For now though I am just thinking about playing for Hull and doing my best for them. This is a club that is on the up. They've just enjoyed two successive promotions, they've got a brand new stadium and they're attracting crowds in excess of 20,000. It's an exciting time for me and I just can't wait to get started now."
