£7m TURNBULL? NO CHANCE!

ASTON VILLA are lining up a £7million bid for Celtic midfielder David Turnbull, according to a report in the Scottish Sun.

If the story is accurate, the Midlands club are in urgent requirement of a reality check.

There is NO chance the Parkhead side will even consider selling the 21-year-old playmaker who joined the club for £2.75million in June last year from Motherwell and whose impressive performances have seen him called into Steve Clarke’s Scotland international squad for the Euro Finals next month.

Villa gaffer Dean Smith must realise this is a waste of everyone’s time at a period where the Hoops do not have an abundance of that precious commodity to spare.

A summer of upheaval is around the corner and players such as Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie will be on the move while the likes of Shane Duffy (Brighton), Jonjoe Kenny (Everton) and Diego Laxalt (AC Milan) are on their way back to their parent clubs following the expiry of their loan deals.

Scott Brown, the club’s stalwart for 14 years, has also left to kick off his player/coaching role at Aberdeen.

News of any sort of move – especially one at a figure that does not come anywhere near the player’s market value considering the exciting youngster’s immense progress since his breakthrough in December – merely serves to unsettle the player and his club.

No doubt Villa believe the Premiership is ripe for bargain buys after their £3million swoop for John McGinn rom Hibs in 2019 and then saw his value soar to around the £20million mark within a year as he inspired the team to promotion to the English top flight.

The interest is understandable when you consider it comes swiftly after Turnbull picked up a hat-trick of prizes last week, winning Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in his club’s awards, as well as the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year honour.

The goalscoring middle-of-the-park performer is under contract at Celtic until May 31 2024.

The message to the Midlands club this morning is clear: Hands off!