HEARTS V PARTICK TH
Even now Jordan Turnbull’s contract at Premier League Southampton would still have had a few months left to run.
He could be competing with the likes of £ 50million-rated Virgil Van Dijk or testing himself against Italian striker Manolo Gabbiadini on a daily basis.
Instead, he’s training at Lesser Hampden with Partick Thistle and trying to kick- start his career in Scotland’s top flight. And the 23-yearold doesn’t have a single regret.
In fact, he reckons his old St Mary’s team-mates like Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse might even admire him for taking the plunge.
Turnbull was highly rated in Saints’ youth team and was handed a deal that tied him to the club until 2018.
But rather than stay on the periphery of Mauricio Pellegrino’s squad, he opted to control his own destiny.
But a move to Coventry City turned into a disaster – and he faced a career crossroads last summer.
That’s when Jags boss Alan Archibald came in to offer Turnbull a fresh start on loan in Glasgow.
And after impressing for Partick, he’s adamant that one day he can get back to the level he was tipped to play at as a Southampton player.
He said: “I wasn’t progressing how I wanted to at Southampton.
“It was a big thing leaving because I had a long contract but I felt I was being shipped out on loan too easily.
“I decided to go out on my own into the big bad world of football to further my career and get up the leagues.
“I’d came through with a strong group. We had Shaw, Ward-Prowse, Callum Chambers and a few others. A lot of those lads have gone on to do really well.
“You feel happy for your mates but it frustrated me that I wasn’t getting the same chances.
“It would have been easy to stay and take my money. But you can’t sit and sulk about it and it maybe says a bit about my character that I wanted to get on.
“I’m brave, I trust myself and my ability. I hoped to catch the eye of clubs higher up last season but Coventry was a big hurdle and it didn’t pay off.
“But I’m still here, I’m young and still fighting. I’m now in the Premiership to prove myself again. I want to play at the highest level possible.”
As well as impressing for his club as a kid, Turnbull was being picked for England’s U19 and U20 squad.
But when he moved to Coventry things turned sour, as f inancial problems and fan protests against the owners wrecked their season.
Even then, Turnbull refuses to beat himself up about the decision to sign on at the Ricoh Arena.
He said: “It was a huge honour to be involved in those squads. I felt I was on par with these boys at that time.
“Of course, last season was difficult to keep the faith in my ability.
“I can’t look back and think about