David Turnbull has been reflecting on his Deadline Day move from Celtic to Cardiff City.
A fee of upto £2m including add-ons was reported by the Daily Mail but that figure is likely to be heavily bonus related with the midfielder only having four months left on is Celtic contract. The final 12 months of most contracts is normally an uneasy time with Turnbull’s case illustrating that perfectly.
Fans are left to speculate if the club are unwilling to make an appropriate offer or if the player won’t commit to the future.
When Brendan Rodgers said in December that he wasn’t losing any sleep over Turnbull’s deal it seemed likely that a January move was being worked on.
Speaking to BBC Wales Turnbull admitted:
I think it was the right time for me [to move on]. I had a great time at Celtic, a great three and a half years, and I loved every minute of it but maybe the last six months to a year hasn’t been the way I wanted it.
To come to a team like Cardiff is a great move for myself. Its about trying to replicate some things I have done before and putting my own style on to the team.
At the start of the season I was playing games and after that fell away a wee bit. Sometimes in football that happens.
Whether it is down to other things I am not sure, but I leave Celtic happy with a lot of my time there and it’s time to come on to new things now.
Despite his lack of playing time Turnbull did contribute seven SPFL goals this season. In contrast Callum McGregor, Paulo Bernardo and Odin Thiago Holm have a combined tally of three. Matt O’Riley has scored 10 times in the SPFL.
CLICK HERE for Celtic’s 23/24 stats.
His goals alone will be a big miss…
Plus it’s one less Scottish player for The Champions League squad numbers –
Though tragically and shamefully for the board and Brendan I don’t think we will be competing in that competition next season !
I think we should be looking more at MacGregor’s contribution. He is not the big influence that most people think. He should not be playing every game. If you watch him carefully, he runs with his marker much of the time without trying to find space. Also, he spends a lot of his time pointing where to go to other players. These guys should be capable of moving into space themselves without his direction. I believe too much importance has been directed towards him. This always has a bad effect.
Editor: McGregor is fire fighting, covering for full backs and wingers that can’t create. Compare his current team mates with those he had 12 months ago.