Celtic pundit Kevin Graham has recently talked about David Turnbull and he has compared the midfielder to Stuart Armstrong.
Graham appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys. One topic of discussion was David Turnbull and his time at Parkhead so far. Graham feels that initially, he could compare the midfielder to Stuart Armstrong but the former Motherwell star has proven to be better than the current Southampton ace.
The Hoops signed Turnbull from Motherwell in the summer of 2020 for a fee of £3.25 million. The move came about 14 months after an initial switch to Parkhead had fallen through because Turnbull’s medical at Celtic had revealed the need for a knee surgery (as per BBC Sport).
Do you find similarities between Turnbull and Armstrong?
Yes
No
The Scotsman has now impressed for the Bhoys already and Graham made it clear that he is looking forward to seeing him in action in a stadium.
He said (42:37): “When we signed him, I was expecting a Stuart Armstrong-type player but he’s better than Armstrong. He’s got far better ability than Armstrong. Armstrong was a bit more forceful and physical. He’s got a bit of class and a light touch – Turnbull. I’m looking forward to seeing him in a stadium.”
TIF Thoughts on Graham’s comments on Turnbull…
In the current campaign, Turnbull has four league goals and he has also racked up five assists for the Bhoys. As a result, he has contributed to 0.75 non-penalty goals plus assists per 90 minutes during his time at Parkhead (as per FBRef).
As for Armstrong, he had also picked up four goals and five assists in his first full season at Celtic but his non-penalty goals plus assists per 90 minutes tally stood at 0.61 (as per FBRef).
So Turnbull has clearly started his Parkhead tenure very well and he deserves big credit for that.