Possible Celtic signing - David Turnbull !!

Current Team - Motherwell

Nationality - Scottish

Age - 19

Height – 185cm

Position – Central Midfielder

League Career stats

2017/2018 Motherwell Scottish Premiership – 2 apps 0 goals

2018/2019 Motherwell Scottish Premiership – 30 apps 15 goals

Overview

Turnbull had a breakthrough 18/19 season with only Sam Cosgrove and Alfredo Morelos scoring more league goals than him. What made it even more impressive was the fact he achieved this from midfield and almost single handedly dragged Motherwell away from being caught up in the relegation mix. Rumours of a move to Celtic have persisted and a fee that would exceed Motherwell’s club record has been agreed. Let’s have a look at what Celtic will be getting if the move does go through.

Strengths

Goals – Turnbull offers a real goal-threat from midfield and has shown he is capable of scoring different types of goals – Left or right foot, penalties, free kicks, shots from distance, first time pouncing on a loose ball in the box and taking a touch to create space before hitting it hard and low past the keeper. The composure he shows and the ability to strike the ball so cleanly sets him apart and would stand out at a higher level. For those who believe in the expected goals stat he scored his 15 goals vs a 7.63XG metric last season.

Technique and Composure – Turnbull makes the game look so easy at times, he’s always got control of the ball and plays in a graceful manner keeping his head up. It sounds simple but you can see he knows what he wants to do before receiving the ball and his first touch not only brings the ball under control but can take his marker out of the game too. He creates time and space for himself and has the ability to glide past players. He averaged nearly 3 dribbles a game last season and set up 2 shots for teammates per game which shows he offers more than just goals in an attacking sense.

Vision – If you watch some of Motherwell’s games last season you can see turnbull’s first instinct is to get the ball forward or shoot, often trying to slip a ball between the centre backs or full backs for his team mate to run on to. This is a harder part to analyse because if you look at his stats he only completes 61% of his forward passes, however watch the games and you see he plays what looks like a good ball – the main problem is his teammate is unable to read it, takes a poor touch or doesn’t have the pace to get there. If he does move to Celtic, then he will immediately be surrounded by quicker more intelligent players who could make the most of this.

Weaknesses

Pace – This can often be the biggest difference maker at the top level, and although Turnbull has stamina and a good physical presence, he doesn’t have the pace to burst in behind or away from a marker. Initially he may find more success in games where Celtic expect to fully dominate (admittedly this is most domestic games) against teams who defend deep and give him shooting opportunities. He could struggle when games become stretched or in Europe when Celtic set up to counter attack.

Flat track bully? – 12 of Turnbull’s 15 goals, and 3 of the 4 credited assists came against teams who finished in the bottom half of the Premiership last season. This may tie into the previous part citing a lack of pace as a weakness, if he is playing in a team on the back foot and he is forced into his own half, he will struggle to get forward and make an impact. With Celtic likely to be favourites in all games apart from the away old firm games next season, it will be interesting to see if Turnbull can make an impact against Rangers and in Europe to shake that tag off.

Defensive ability – Undoubtedly the weakest part of Turnbull’s game, he only managed to win 21% of his defensive duels last season and 35% of his aerial duels. He doesn’t contribute a lot in terms on interceptions or tackles either so unless this improves, he may struggle to win Neil Lennon’s trust for the bigger games. It may also be part of the reason he was left out of the Scotland squad for the recent qualifiers as he likely would have been a passenger if he played in the game against Belgium. This is the biggest question hanging over him going forward and improving here could prove to be the difference between becoming a squad player at Celtic or a first team regular.

Future potential

Turnbull will be Neil Lennon’s first big signing since returning to Celtic and the reported fee of 3 million suggests he will get plenty of chances to prove himself in the first team. 15 goals from midfield in a struggling team was remarkable in his first season as a starter so it will be intriguing to see what he can achieve next season. He seems likely to be up against Tom Rogic as the option as a rangy goal scoring playmaker going forward, and may not start as many games next season. If he can make the transition to a bigger club then he will undoubtedly get in the Scotland squad. Scotland are stocked with midfielders who are nice on the ball and can keep possession and go box to box but lack a true goal threat either from midfield or from a striker at the moment. This means there is a major void in the national team and if he keeps improving David Turnbull may be the man to fill it.

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