Ball in David Turnbull’s court on new long-term Celtic deal

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David Turnbull has been offered a new long-term deal at Celtic with Brendan Rodgers revealing a contract is on the table.

Turnbull, who joined Celtic in August 2020 from Motherwell for £3 million, has not yet signed a contract extension at Celtic Park. There has been speculation regarding whether he has been offered a new deal.

Brendan Rodgers confirmed when speaking to the media that a new deal has been offered to Turnbull. However, the Hoops midfielder is currently deliberating over whether to sign the extension.

Turnbull has started the season impressively despite not signing a new deal. The Hoops midfielder has scored 5 goals in 9 Scottish Premiership matches. Turnbull recently scored in consecutive Scottish Premiership games for the first time since December 2020, indicating that he is back to his best. With injuries to Reo Hatate, he has emerged as the first-choice replacement for the Japanese international’s position.

Rodgers said: [Daily Record], “David is a player we would like to keep, so it is not us here on the club side.

“He has to do what he thinks is right for himself. At this moment of time, he is still in the last year of his contract. Unless something changes, it is just a case of as long as the players are giving their all. It only becomes a problem if I don’t see the intensity that I want, the mentality that I want.

“That’s always something I am mindful of with players in the last year of their contracts. You have to be right on it or otherwise you can drift very easily, and think about other things. As a manager I won’t let that happen no matter how good anyone is.”

Rodgers was full of praise for Turnbull but emphasised how difficult it is to become a first-team regular for Celtic. He said: “David is still young but when you get to that age you do want to play, and be a starter. But if you want to be a starter at Celtic, it is that intensity and ambition you need to show, every game you play. There is no doubt he is a talented player. You see his goal – there are not many can score goals of that quality. I really like David.”

A contract extension for Turnbull can only be a good thing and will add further stability to the Celtic squad, with 8 first-team players already signing new deals this season, including Callum McGregor, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Reo Hatate.

It has become apparent this season that Rodgers values Turnbull as a player and has given the Hoops midfielder more game time than he was afforded at this stage last season. His start against Ross County in the first game of the season was particularly surprising to fans, despite Hatate scoring only four days prior in a friendly against Atletico Bilbao.