Who is going to blink first in Turnbull saga?

THE future of David Turnbull has come down to a bout of Russian Roulette. A game of who blinks first. This week, Celtic agreed a fee of £2.8million plus add-ons with Motherwell. In a Steelmen statement confirming they’d accepted Celtic’s offer, the only word missing was ‘hallelujah’. Yet, there’s a reason why football clubs rarely speak about transfer dealings until they’re done and dusted. The minute Celtic agreed to let Motherwell put out that statement, Turnbull’s agent Liam O’Donnell found himself holding a pretty strong hand. It’s now 12 months since Peter Lawwell copped it in the neck — from fans and Brendan Rodgers — for failing to land Hibs midfielder John McGinn. For that to happen once is human. Twice begins to look careless. And Turnbull’s agent knows it. Currently on a basic salary of £600 a week, Celtic probably thought the midfielder would be happy to sign up for a weekly wage in excess of £12,000 plus appearance money. But here’s the thing. Turnbull doesn’t support Celtic, he wants to move to a team where he has a chance of playing and has been led to believe there’s interest from five clubs in the English Premier League and Championship. He’s entitled to see what else is out there before committing himself to the first cheque waved in his face. Is there a risk in that strategy? Of course there is. Celtic released a statement last night threatening to walk away from negotiations unless O’Donnell stops hawking his client around England. To be clear, the deal isn’t dead. Not yet. Taken aback by Celtic’s statement, Turnbull’s camp believed they were simply engaged in a tricky negotiation. They haven’t rejected anything yet — they simply haven’t accepted it. And they still might. No one else has matched Celtic’s bid. And Lawwell is clearly banking on the possibility that no one else will. Yet there’s an obvious risk in that calculation for Celtic’s chief executive, as well. Because the gun is cocked. And a repeat of the McGinn scenario will have fans rushing to pull the trigger.