Peter Grant has backed David Turnbull to showcase his worth under new manager Brendan Rodgers, as he acknowledged that the midfielder has been ‘unfortunate’ at Celtic.
The 24-year-old is in the final 12 months of his contract at Parkhead and you would imagine if he doesn’t impress Rodgers here then his time at the champions won’t be extended, unless he is sold before then.
A player with an eye for a goal, Celtic favourite Grant stated that he ‘likes the kid’ and he agreed that Turnbull‘s skill set would suit Rodgers’ style of play, as he told Go Radio.
The 5-cap Scotland star hasn’t done much wrong at Celtic, it’s just a case of not lighting up the big stage as much as fans would have liked.
Under Ange Postecoglou, he wasn’t a regular starter, but he did feature enough to help the team win yet another Treble and provide great quality as a back-up option.
But with Rodgers now in the dugout, he will want to put his own fingerprints on the team and it will be interesting to see how he uses Turnbull, with Grant sharing his thoughts.
“I still think there are people to go out of the door,” said Grant. “There are so many midfielders coming. How is David Turnbull feeling? I really like David Turnbull.
“I am thinking to myself. Where is he going to play? Is he going to shoot to the front of it, which he could do under Brendan? It could (the style suits him). He’s a goalscoring midfielder. I really like the kid.
“I just think he has been unfortunate at certain times.”
Turnbull will thrive under Rodgers
It has been three years since Turnbull was signed from Motherwell, but it needs to be remembered that he only turned 24 last week.
There is still plenty of life, improvements and promise left in his armoury and Rodgers’ more controlled style might just get him ticking to high, high levels ahead of the new season.
But he also needs to remember that he has a small window to take his game to the next level, because if he doesn’t, then it might just signal the end of his Celtic career.
In other news, Shunsuke Nakamura has met with the five Japanese Celtic players for a special event
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