The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Turnbull seizes chance
New Hoops signing delighted to make switch after move last year scuppered by failed medical
David Turnbull was delighted to seize a second chance to sign for Celtic after overcoming the worst moment of his life when a failed medical scuppered a move last year.
Celtic have agreed to pay Motherwell a similar fee to the potential £3.25 million on offer in June 2019 after Turnbull bounced back from surgery which followed the discovery of a latent knee problem.
The midfielder was coming off the back of his breakthrough season, having netted 15 goals in 30 league games, but has proven in recent weeks that he is back to form and fitness following two operations.
Motherwell said the fee was nearly double their previous transfer record – which was the £1.75m received from Celtic for Phil O’Donnell in 1994.
The 21-year-old said on Celtic’s website: “To join the biggest club in Scotland, I’m just delighted.
“Looking back, the injury was the worst time of my life, really. It was so hard to take, but I knew that if I worked hard, kept my head down, the chance could come around again, so long as I stuck to it. Now, I can’t wait to get started.”
Turnbull’s arrival has given Celtic a much-needed lift following their Champions League exit against Ferencvaros and the Scotland Under-21 international is eager to contribute in the club’s quest for 10 consecutive titles.
He could make his debut against his former team on Sunday.
“The success of Celtic in recent seasons has been incredible,” he said.
“They’ve been so consistent as well, which is the root of their success. As soon as I’m required, I’m ready.
“I’ve played in the first five games of the season, I’ve managed to get a goal, I feel really fit and I’m just raring to go and make my mark here at Celtic.
“It’d be brilliant to win silverware this season at Celtic. I obviously grew up playing with Motherwell, and while we were involved in cup finals, there was maybe less of an expectation to get there.
“It’s the opposite at Celtic, so to be involved in big games, tournaments and cups would be an honour for me and my family.
“I can’t wait to do whatever I can to help Celtic win more trophies in this important season ahead.”
Meanwhile Hoops skipper Scott Brown insists any wantaway players should still be giving their all while they are at Parkhead.
After crashing out of the Champions League manager Neil Lennon revealed some of his squad have been looking for a way out.
Brown was surprised to hear that news but stressed the need for commitment.
The 35-year-old midfielder said: “For me the lads want to be here.
“I don’t know what people have said to him individually to be perfectly honest.
“But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if they want to be here or not, once they go on that park, everyone gives 100%, that’s what the gaffer demands.
“It wasn’t the best performance, we dominated the ball but we have not been clinical enough in front of goal and we were a little bit sloppy with the two goals.”
Asked if he hoped any unhappy players would speak to him about their situation, Brown said: “Yeah, definitely.
“I hope everyone wants to be here. For me, it is fantastic club.
“There is a lot of lads who love this club that want to see us winning games, that have been here throughout, winning trophies, winning trebles and we know the feeling and it means so much to us. But for now, if people don’t want to be here, it’s hard.
“But it’s not up to me whether they stay or not, that is (for) the manager and the board and that’s a discussion with the players that don’t want to be here.”
Celtic drop down to the Europa League but next up is a home Premiership game against Motherwell on Sunday where Brown hopes the Hoops get back on track in their quest for 10 titles in a row.
He said: “It’s all about how we bounce back, we know what we are going to get in the papers for the next couple of days
“We know we’ve got to get together, we’ve got to be stronger than we ever have been.
“We’ve been in this situation before and it’s not nice and we don’t want the situation.
“We are out of the Champions League and it is not what we wanted.
“Now we need to focus on Motherwell which is huge, every single league game for us is huge this season, as well as every other season.
“But it is about the mentality of the whole squad and we need to make sure that we look back at this game and learn.
“We owe the fans a performance on Sunday.”