A few hours back, David Turnbull’s move to Celtic seemed like a done deal as Motherwell had accepted a club record fee of £3m. However, Celtic posted a cryptic message on their Twitter account yesterday which looked like it was trying to show the world that if a move for Turnbull doesn’t happen, then you know who to blame. Something like this is unheard of as clubs look to strike a deal behind closed doors giving very little away in their transfer pursuit
Celtic had posted, ”Currently, we have been unable to come to an agreement with the player’s agent. Celtic FC is content that it has made a magnificent offer and it is now up to the agent and player to decide if the player wants to join Celtic. If not, we move on.”
Now reports from the Express claims that the midfielder is unimpressed with Celtic’s so-called magnificent offer. The report states that the offer which has been presented to him makes him feel that he isn’t being seen as a first team option. Celtic are aware of the wages which Motherwell offer him, and they have significantly increased that.
However, the midfielder is still unsatisfied with the offer. Turnbull feels that the contract isn’t in line with a player who is set to play a big first team part at Parkhead.
Is Arsene Wenger managing the #CelticFC twitter handle? ? https://t.co/LnntB9F6AP
— The 4th Official (@Official_T4O) June 14, 2019
In a situation like this, many would even blame the player’s agent as; usually, he is the one who suggests these demands to the player.
Why wouldn’t Turnbull be the first-team option at Celtic initially?
The midfielder indeed had a fantastic 16 goals season at the Well, but he wouldn’t straightaway walk into the first eleven at Celtic. The midfielder just had one good season at Motherwell, and it is ridiculous to see him wanting wages equal to the first team players at Celtic who have proved their worth year in year out.
Callum McGregor and Scott Brown are likely to continue in the central midfield role, and Turnbull needs to prove his worth in pre-season and training before he demands first team wages and a spot. Some sources suggest that Turnbull’s representative want £20,000/ week. Even Victor Wanyama and Virgil Van Dijk reportedly started with lower offers.
By putting out the tweet publicly, Celtic have given a strong message that they wouldn’t be held ransom to the player’s demands. If the move falls through the midfielder would be labelled as a money grabber who probably wants a bit too much at this stage of his career than he can chew. Not the kind of thing you want to see in public for an upcoming player but Celtic probably felt strongly towards Turnbull’s demand and took this step.
