Celtic summer target David Turnbull’s return to action seemed to come out of nowhere, but on a real positive note, he made a late substitute appearance for Motherwell last night.
The Steelmen ultimately fell 2-1 at home to St Mirren, but oddly that wasn’t really the biggest story of the night.
Turnbull had come so close to finalising a move to Parkhead in the summer. However, a medical showed that he required immediate preventative surgery. Celtic tried to offer Motherwell revised terms, but the Fir Park club booted it out (Motherwell FC).
But it’s great to see that eight months after the issue was discovered, Turnbull is back playing once again. He didn’t make much of an impact in last night’s match, but that wasn’t expected of him. Just getting on the pitch is all that matters at the moment. His cameo appearance at Fir Park will do him wonders.
Michael Stewart reacted to the news of his return to the bench with a positive Twitter post:
Nothing hasty required from Celtic
It’s easy at a time like this to immediately ask the question of whether we’ll go back in for him again. However, circumstances have most certainly changed.
As things stand, Celtic signed Ismaila Soro in the summer, who’s supposed to play in the same position as Turnbull. He’s yet to make his debut of course, but the club have invested in him now.
That’s not to say a move for Turnbull can’t be pulled off this summer. However, in order for that to be the case, the Scotland youth international will need to try and build up an impressive body of work between now and the end of the season.
Celtic will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on him between now and then to see if something further should be done here. However, it’s not a case of definitely jumping back in for Turnbull now that he’s back.
It could take him a while to get up to speed too after going three quarters of a year without playing a competitive game of football. Turnbull needs time, and that’s why any talk of a summer move in the near future is premature.
Do you think the club should go back in for Turnbull in the summer now that he’s back? Should Celtic wait a little longer to see what levels he reaches? Let us know your opinion in the discussion forum below.
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