Departures were always going to be on the horizon at Celtic during the mid-season window under Brendan Rodgers.
Back in December, the Irishman indicated that his ideal squad size at the Scottish champions would be around 25 players, which is significantly below the current number of individuals on the payroll.
Nevertheless, the Hoops couldn’t get the likes of Yuki Kobayashi, James McCarthy and Gustaf Lagerbielke off the books despite the trio being earmarked for potential departures [Anthony Joseph].
In particular, rank-and-file supporters were bemused to see that veteran midfielder McCarthy remained in Glasgow after Celtic rejected a loan offer from Volos FC for the 33-year-old, who hasn’t featured at all since October 2022 [Sky Sports].
The Bhoys did manage to broker deals that saw Yosuke Ideguchi, Hyeokkyu Kwon, Mikey Johnston, Marco Tilio, Adam Montgomery and David Turnbull leave the building in various capacities, helping to reduce the headcount at Lennoxtown.
Turnbull was probably the most notable outgoing during the mid-season window, given that his sale to Cardiff City has put £2 million back into the coffers notwithstanding the fact he only had months left on his contract [Football Scotland].
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers explains David Turnbull exit
Some Celtic fans will be wary of the decision to sell Turnbull amid news that Reo Hatate will be out with a calf issue for between five to six weeks.
Tomoki Iwata is back in training; however, the 26-year-old isn’t up to full speed, and so far, the horizon of when he may return to contention from his own injury struggles is unclear.
Despite this, the Hoops pushed through the sale and Rodgers has now explained why the club came to the decision, stating [Scotsman]: “It goes back to the summer, knowing where David was at in his thinking.
“Obviously he was in the last year of his contract so I felt it was best for us and for him to get out and play. He has done well here. It hasn’t worked out quite how he wanted it to, but he is a good guy, he worked very hard and now he will have the chance to have a permanent place to play.”
David Turnbull’s goals will be missed at Celtic
Admittedly, Turnbull wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and perhaps isn’t the most athletic player to ever don the green and white hoops; nonetheless, his eye for goal scarcely failed to deliver.
As per Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old has netted seven times in 16 Scottish Premiership appearances this campaign.
To put his strike rate into context, nobody left in the squad has a better goal ratio in the league per 90 minutes at 0.93, with Hyeongyu Oh a distant second at 0.75 [Fotmob].
Yes, it was probably time for Turnbull to take his next career step, though it does seem a tad concerning that nobody has been brought in to try and emulate his contribution from midfield.
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