DAVID TURNBULL should snub any chance of going to Celtic to try his luck in England.
That’s the advice of the midfielder’s former Motherwell team-mate Lionel Ainsworth who reckons the Scotland Under-21 international could make the sort of impact in the Championship as John McGinn did when he joined Aston Villa two years ago.
Turnbull, of course, was on his way to the champions in a £3.2million switch from Fir Park last summer before a medical discovered a knee problem which required surgery.
The move had to be scrapped, but the Hoops have continued to monitor the progress of the 20-year-old prospect who made his first-team comeback in February before football went into lockdown in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Stoke City boss Michael O’Neill has been linked with Turnbull – as CQN reported – and is looking to rebuild the Potteries side after taking over in November last year from Nathan Jones.
Ainsworth, who quit Stephen Robinson’s outfit in 2017 for Plymouth Argyle, was impressed as he saw the youngster come through the ranks at Well.
Reacting to the transfer speculation surrounding the goalscoring middle-of-the-park operator, the ex-Well winger, speaking to Lanarkshire Live Sport, said: “In David’s situation, he’s got to be looking at it as an opportunity.
SIGN OF THE TIMES? David Turnbull and Neil Lennon in the Celtic boardroom last summer.
“Yes, he’s got suitors in Scotland who were interested in him, but he’s got to look at it as an opportunity to go to a massive club who have underachieved in the past couple of years.
“It’s a team that I would look at David Turnbull and say he is going to play.
“I’ve seen a few players go to Stoke because of the pull of playing for them and the Championship is obviously a really good level.
“In my opinion, it’s an opportunity he should take. He’s a good player and he has come on leaps and bounds since I was there. He has got his chance and taken it.
“If he has the opportunity to go to England, take it, because it might not ever come around again.”
Ainsworth, who spent three years at Fir Park after joining from Rotherham, added: “I think when you are moving to Stoke, they are a team that have the power to get back to the Premier League.
“It’s a process, but you have to think to yourself you can be a part of that process.
“He has to step out of his comfort zone; look at John McGinn. It’s absolutely amazing.
“If Villa don’t stay up, I believe he will have more suitors interested in him in the Premier League because he has shown what he can do.
“At one point they were talking about Manchester United, now why can’t David Turnbull go and do that? I believe he can.
“I think it’s an opportunity he can’t pass up. He could go to Celtic or other teams in Scotland, but it’s a short career, you have to show what you’re about in that time.”
Interestingly, Turnbull did have talks with newly-promoted top-flight side Norwich City last summer, but knocked them back in an attempt to join the Hoops.
