OPINION
Celtic need to act swiftly if they’re going to win the reported race for Motherwell midfielder David Turnbull as his reported price tag will only see competition for his services grow.
The Daily Mail previously reported that the Hoops were readying a £1.2million bid for the 6ft 1in tall teenager (Source: Transfermarkt) who had an impressive 2018/19 campaign.
Turnbull defied expectations and wowed in his latest season as the 19-year-old central midfielder scored 15 goals while assisting seven in his 31 outings for the senior side.
In fact the 19-year-old was so impressive that he ended up being involved with 77% of Motherwell’s league goals.
So it’s no surprise that Celtic’s potentially incoming £1.2million bid isn’t expected to be enough with Motherwell CEO Alan Burrows taking to Twitter to say a club would need to offer more than the £1.75million (the club’s record fee) it took to sign Phil O’Donnell in 1994.
“Getting some questions re David Turnbull, given today’s newspaper report,” wrote Burrows on his Twitter account.
“I try not to reply to speculation (for obvious reasons), but to reiterate what I’ve already gone on public record as saying.
“We will only consider offers of significantly more than our record fee received.”
However that doesn’t mean Turnbull isn’t going to be available for a bargain price.
According to the Daily Record, Motherwell have slapped a £3million-plus price tag on Turnbull’s head with them looking for a team to pay £2.5million up front with more than £500,000 in achievable add-ons.
Given the midfielder’s amazing 2018/19 campaign and the fact he is only 19-years-old so is destined to get better, him costing under £4million makes him an absolute steal.
It’s also easy to imagine Turnbull excelling in Neil Lennon’s side as the Hoops would benefit from a young energetic midfielder like the 19-year-old, especially when you consider he’d boost their goal threat.
So with this mind Celtic need to act swiftly in order to win the race for the midfielder as competition is fierce.
According to the Daily Record, Bristol City, Southampton, Brighton and Burnley are all keen on signing Turnbull and given that at least three of these clubs would be easily able to match the player’s price tag, the Hoops can’t hesitate.