Young midfielder David Turnbull has enjoyed an impressive second season with Celtic under new boss Ange Postecoglou, but a hamstring injury derailed his season. Celtic’s campaign, however, has not suffered, and journalist Hugh MacDonald now claims he will struggle to start.
Celtic have enjoyed a resurgent season under Postecoglou as they sit six points clear at the top of the league with a Scottish Cup semi-final coming up. It feels like a long way from the 20/21 season where they finished a whopping 25 points off the summit, whereas now they look like the dominant force in Scotland once again.
In their latest game, the Hoops dismantled St Johnstone with ease, running out 7-0 victors and taking their goal difference up to 59 – 19 goals in front of the second-placed Rangers. Celtic look sure to take home their 52nd SPFL title this season and are very much still in the running for a Scottish treble.
A big reason for their turnaround in form has been down to the young players Postecoglou has helped to develop, one of whom is Turnbull, who was a starter under the Australian until his injury. Now it seems the 22-year-old Scotsman might struggle to get back into the starting team after being so key.
MacDonald suggested on PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show that his injury originally looked to halt Celtic’s season, but instead, he may find it hard to find his place back in the starting lineup.
He said: “When Turnbull got injured, everybody was saying, is that Celtic’s season completely derailed? Now, he’ll be lucky to get a starting place.”
TIF Thoughts on Turnbull…
The former Motherwell midfielder, who is valued at £5.85m (as per Transfermarkt), has developed very well under Postecoglou and looks to be a player for now and the future for the Glasgow team. While the injury may have caused Turnbull’s position in the first team to be called into question, he has a long career ahead of him and plenty of time to find his good form once more.
Prior to his injury, Turnbull was a reliable soldier the manager could call on, as in his 37 appearances in all competitions, he racked up an impressive nine goals and eight assists while averaging 2.6 shots, three key passes, 0.7 dribbles and two crosses per match, with an 88.1% pass accuracy from 52.6 passes per game (as per WhoScored).
Should David Turnbull start?Yes
No
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Celtic have a litany of talented midfielders to choose from, including Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley, Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor to name a few, but Turnbull is right there amongst them in terms of that talent.
Even if he doesn’t regain his position before the end of the season, he has a long career ahead of him to do more great things.