Celtic must be laughing at Aston Villa and their reported David Turnbull valuation

By John McGinley

May 21, 2021

Apparently, Aston Villa are lining up a £7m move for Celtic star David Turnbull this summer.

So say The Scottish Sun anyway.

They reckon Villa have scouted the young midfielder multiple times this season and that they are keen on spending that much on him ahead of next term.

With Ross Barkley heading back to Chelsea and Jack Grealish potentially set for a blockbuster move elsewhere, Turnbull is a contender to provide that midfield goal threat.

It’s said by the paper that Celtic will be fighting to keep ahold of the player, who is now heading to Euro 2020 with Scotland.

If that’s all Villa have to offer, it won’t be much of a fight

I’d be absolutely stunned if Celtic sold Turnbull for as small a fee as £7m.

Unless Turnbull is actively hunting for a move away from Celtic Park, and there is no sign he is, then that’d be an offer laughed out of the boardroom, surely?

If Villa have truly had a look at the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year this season and reckon they can snatch him up for less than £10m, and potentially much more, then they’ve badly miscalculated the situation.

Turnbull’s contract runs until 2024. Celtic hold all the cards here and nobody at the club is going to accept a derisory offer for one of the most celebrated young talents to emerge at the club in recent years.

Celtic star David Turnbull has been linked with Aston Villa / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Look at past winners of the PFA Scotland award: Kieran Tierney, Andrew Robertson, Stiliyan Petrov, Aiden McGeady. Not exactly the standard of player you pick up for a bargain fee.

Turnbull is going to be a part of the Celtic rebuild next season. I don’t have much doubt about that.

If he develops over the next couple of years and wants to test himself at a higher level, so be it. But Celtic won’t be letting him go on the cheap. Not a chance.

In other news, 30 clubs are after free-agent Ryan Gauld; why Celtic could beat them all to his signature.