The fee agreed between Celtic and Motherwell for David Turnbull is £2.75million with no English sides likely to meet the Hoops’ offer, according to journalist Alan Nixon.
The Sun reporter claims on his personal Twitter account that the Bhoys’ offer, which Motherwell confirmed they had accepted, was just under the £3million mark with additional fees, such as performance bonuses, on top of that.
He went on to say that English sides who might have been chasing his capture are not going to meet that figure, handing Celtic a big boost in their hopes of securing his signing.
Celtic bid for Turnbull at 2.75 plus extras. Nobody in England going to match that …
— Alan Nixon (@reluctantnicko) June 12, 2019
While no official fee has been confirmed, Motherwell did reveal that the fee agreed with the Glasgow giants was a record breaking figure in terms of a player sale from the club.
We have agreed a fee with Celtic for the potential sale of David Turnbull.
Should the deal go through, the value will vastly exceed our previous record fee received. It will be transformational for us as we continue to operate as a fan-owned club.https://t.co/1hbXcMf8od pic.twitter.com/rQa1HQm06o
— Motherwell FC (@MotherwellFC) June 12, 2019
Opinion
For a 19-year-old with just about a season’s worth of experience in Scotland’s top flight under his belt, this is quite a fee. Admittedly his stats are hard to ignore for a midfielder, offering a lot of goals for someone playing at a club who finished outside the top six. English clubs in the Premier League and Championship might have the financial power to beat Celtic to his signing but they will be asking themselves whether he is really worth that money. Yes, you are paying for the potential he has but if he were to fail to impress in the Championship then he could be heading back north of the border for half the money a team paid for him. He is clearly someone the Hoops feel can improve significantly during his time at Parkhead but he needs to be playing first team football if he is going to live up to expectation. Can they really offer him that when there are so many other experienced players vying for a spot? That is the big question that Neil Lennon will have to answer if Turnbull does arrive at Celtic Park.