David Turnbull was the talk of last summer’s transfer window as Celtic tried to bring him at Parkhead. After a lot of tugging and pulling, the deal eventually fell through with a surprise medical complication. The midfielder went through a knee surgery after that and missed the first half of the season. He is now back on the pitch and is fighting to win his place back in Motherwell’s lineup.
Turnbull talks about missing out on a Celtic move
The Motherwell academy product recently revealed that not moving to Celtic in the summer was a hard one to take. The player had already planned for the next day’s training session, but a medical issue came up at the 11th hour.
The midfielder said (Motherwell Youtube Channel), “I went into Lennoxtown on Saturday, got my new boots and my new running trainers, looking forward to training. Then I went, had a meeting with Lennon and spoke to the physio after my medical, and he said something had come up in my left knee, but they didn’t think it would be much to worry about.”
“Obviously, it was. My agent was still working on it, I’m sure Motherwell and Celtic were still working on it to try and get something sorted, so it was a waiting game really. I found out I had to get an operation, and the deal was kind of done. It wasn’t a great feeling, to be honest; it was a hard one to take. It was tough to get my head around.”
Should Lennon consider going after Turnbull in the summer?
The 20-year-old impressed last season where he had a breakthrough campaign for the Well. He contributed with 16 goals and seven assists from midfield. Norwich City were also heavily interested in him at one stage, but Celtic had managed to get their man for £3.25m in the end.
It remains to be seen how Turnbull will go about his business after his length injury. He has made one substitute appearance this season. If Turnbull can show glimpses of what he was doing last season, then he would certainly be worth considering again in the summer.
However, the midfield is one area where Celtic have strong options. Even the likes of Olivier Ntcham and Tom Rogic have struggled for game time this season, and that shows the depth and quality in Celtic’s midfield. Hence, we feel that until there is a departure, Celtic don’t really need to go all out to bring in a midfielder like Turnbull. Ntcham has previously been linked with some of the top leagues. If Lennon decides to cash in on him, then Turnbull can be his replacement. However, a lot would also hinge on how he performs after his comeback.
