Neil Lennon has confirmed that David Turnbull will be joining Celtic, with a deal likely to be concluded on Friday.
The Celtic manager was talking to the media at Lennoxtown as the new SPL fixtures were announced.
Lennon said that Turnbull had chosen Celtic over Premier League teams, which he admitted “is quite a coup for us”.
His comments were quoted on the official Celtic Twitter account on Friday lunchtime.
The BBC had reported earlier that Norwich had been favourites to sign Turnbull after Celtic had failed to agree terms with the player.
However, after both clubs reportedly had £3.25million bid accepted, it is Celtic who are going to triumph and capture the 19-year-old midfielder.
? NL on David Turnbull: "The deal will be concluded, hopefully today. Thankfully he’s chosen us over Premier League teams, which is quite a coup for us."
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) June 21, 2019
VERDICT
Celtic still have the pull and the financial power to compete with Premier League sides, albeit one who has just gone up from the Championship – and fans will be delighted by that. However, Turnbull is only 19 and it could have come down to the player not wanting to move from Scotland. Irrespective though, Turnbull is a very talented player – Lennon himself said the midfielder had a “sensational” season with Motherwell and he will be expecting big things off him when he’s playing in a better side. 16 goals and seven assists for Motherwell is hugely impressive for a player who only made his Premiership debut in May 2018, and at just 19 the sky’s the limit for the Scotland Under-21 international. £3.25million is a hell of a lot of money as well, especially for a side like Motherwell. We’d call it transformational and they now have the summer to use the cash to strengthen their side and aim for a top-half finish in the 19/20 Premiership. For Celtic, it’s a case of win the league again or the season will be considered a bust.