Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he won’t beg players to sign for Celtic. The Irishman referred to this when prompted about the present situation surrounding David Turnbull. The Scottish midfielder has yet to put pen to paper and extend his contract with the Hoops, which will run out at the end of the current season.
Celtic scooped Turnbull up from Motherwell at the second time of asking, after his medical flagged up a knee issue first time out back in the summer of 2019. The player was even pictured in a Celtic jersey sitting next to Neil Lennon inside Parkhead when a photo was leaked online. That transfer subsequently fell flat on its face and Lennon had to wait until a year later to get his man when a dramatic U-turn at the last minute stopped him signing for Norwich City.
The has enjoyed a mixed bag since his time with the club started in the summer transfer window of 2020. Sitting on the bench until nearly half-way through that disappointing season, both he and Ismaila Soro were the only positives in midfield for a long time as the Hoops’ grip on the Scottish Premiership slipped without spectators inside the stadium to cheer them on to victory. It was a sobering time and yet Turnbull managed to come out of it relatively unscathed by fan criticism due to his performances.
Following Ange Postecoglou landing on these shores from the J-League with Yokohama F. Marinos, the Scot then found himself playing a key role in that preferred 4-3-3 formation that was the cornerstone of Angeball. With Tom Rogic and his captain, Callum McGregor, Turnbull was finally given a chance to showcase his wonderful talent and ability on a weekly basis before a terrible hamstring injury in the 2021 League Cup Final disrupted that form.
Now the ex-Motherwell man is at a crossroads in his career and is taking his time to secure the best future possible both financially and for his footballing career. On the situation, Rodgers confirmed that they had been talking with David’s representatives but that talks had stalled. The gaffer said, via Daily Record: “If a player doesn’t want to sign, he doesn’t want to sign. I won’t lose sleep over it. There were talks back in the summer and I’m not sure how far they’ve gone but clearly they’ve not gone as well as David or maybe his representative have wanted.
He added: “Either way, he’s at that stage of his contract where he can choose what he wants to do and decide whether his prospects are better elsewhere. But while he’s here and committed, working and running he’ll always be a valuable asset. As a younger coach I probably took it (players rejecting deals) very personally – if a player didn’t want to stay I thought it was about me. Now I know that it’s about players having short careers.”
Paul Gillespie
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