IT LOOKS as though David Turnbull’s days as a Celtic player are numbered after a series of snubs from Brendan Rodgers.
The latest came in the midweek Champions League exit to Lazio in Rome when the Hoops boss again elected to start with on-loan Benfica midfielder Paulo Bernardo.
Turnbull, a £2.75million recruit by Neil Lennon from Motherwell in August 2020, is out of contract at the end of the season and it looks increasingly as though he is on his way.
MASTER BLASTER…David Turnbull thumps in the opening goal in the 3-0 win over Ross County in Dingwall earlier this month.
The Scotland international playmaker, who had to wait until the 86th minute before making an appearance at the Olimpico Stadium, has been linked with a surprise £7million switch to Serie A outfit AC Milan, according to a report in media outlet Planet Milan.
It’s more likely any interested suitors will delay any move for the 24-year-old middle-of-the-park operator until January where they will be allowed to talk to Turnbull and negotiate a contract without having to shell out a huge fee.
The easy-on-the-eye ball-player kicked off the campaign in the first team and scored two goals in the opening-day Premiership 4-2 victory over Ross County at Parkhead on August 5. Reo Hatate was on the substitutes’ bench that afternoon before replacing the Scot midway through the second-half.
Subsequently, though, Turnbull’s appearances nosedived with the Japanese star, who missed the Lazio game through injury, becoming first pick for Rodgers and now Bernardo has edged ahead in the selection process.
HOOP HOOP HOORAY…David Turnbull celebrates in Dingwall.
The five times-capped Scot is at the crossroads of his career where regular first-team football is a must and it now looks as though a shift to pastures new is inevitable, as CQN reported over a month ago.
If the champions receive a bid of £7million after the turn of the year you can be certain it will be snapped up.
However, it is much more likely Turnbull will see out the remainder of his terms with intermittent first-team outings before leaving without a fanfare of trumpets after the last ball has been kicked at the end of the campaign.
