Graeme McGarry: How David Turnbull’s transfer to Celtic collapsed

Celtic of course lose out on a promising young player who could not only go on to become even better than he already is, but could also immediately make an impact on their side. Motherwell, while retaining the player, miss out on £3m or more, a figure that their chief executive Alan Burrows said would be ‘transformational’ to the club. But the person who loses out most is Turnbull himself.

The lifelong Motherwell fan is still in a fortunate position that most boys his age would give their right arm to be in, and while a preventative operation to clean up the knee problem uncovered during his medical at Celtic will now keep him out until Christmas or even beyond, hopefully he may come to reflect on that soon. He is still just 19 and has a long career ahead. His big move may yet come. Hopefully the people around him are reminding him of that fact at the moment, because there is no doubt he could use an arm around the shoulder.

He is said to be devastated, and little wonder when the opportunity to multiply his wage many times over is taken from him through no fault of his own.

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It was a transfer saga that had dragged on for weeks. Though it seemed like longer.

From the initial rejection of Celtic’s offer by Turnbull to the surprising tweets about the negotiation from the champions, to Norwich City having a bid accepted and Turnbull travelling down to discuss terms, right through to his u-turn and final decision to come back up the road and accept Celtic’s terms.

But the longer the deal went without conclusion – even after Turnbull was pictured alongside Celtic manager Neil Lennon wearing the club’s jersey last Friday – the more alarm bells were ringing that the move may be in jeopardy.

That was proven to be the case when the news broke on Tuesday evening that indeed, a knee issue had been uncovered after Celtic sent Turnbull to a specialist the previous day. Physically, he feels fine, but if left unchecked, the issue could have had serious ramifications down the line.

So, with that preventative surgery required, and a six-month lay-off the norm thereafter, suddenly the deal was thrown into doubt. And really, it is difficult to lay fault at anyone’s door for the impasse that followed.

Celtic still wanted the player, but with him set to miss a large portion of his first season, they wanted to renegotiate the deal that had originally been struck for the player’s transfer. They were prepared to pay a nominal fee to take the player on loan for the season, have him go under the knife and then undergo the subsequent rehab with them, before they would then purchase him down the line.

From Motherwell’s point of view, that suggestion was a non-starter. They had publicly drawn a line in the sand at the £3m figure they wanted if they were to let Turnbull go, and felt they couldn’t risk allowing him to leave on loan where the circumstances surrounding the player would be outwith their control. If Celtic manager Lennon was to leave his post during the season, for example, where would Turnbull be then? It may not be particularly palatable to talk about players as ‘assets’, but if that loan deal didn’t go well for any particular reason, Turnbull returning to Fir Park in such a scenario with just 12 months left on his deal would see a huge depreciation in his market value.

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The longer it all went on, the more it seemed as though the deal wouldn’t happen at all. And while Lennon was still optimistic about the player coming to Celtic on Wednesday evening, when he reiterated his admiration for Turnbull and his fervent hope he could still work with him in the coming season, the new deal proposed from Celtic’s side was finally and irrevocably rebuffed by Motherwell later that night.

By Thursday lunchtime, the cat was out of the bag, and the feelings from the camps on either side of the deal were strikingly similar. Disappointment at what had come to pass, but most of all, heartfelt disappointment for Turnbull.

Neil Lennon used a phrase when describing Turnbull’s situation on Wednesday evening in Austria that rather neatly sums up his current situation, stating that he may have to go through a little short-term pain for long-term gain. And that is what he must now remember, that the pain he is feeling at the move breaking down and his lengthy lay-off is temporary, but the class the young man has is permanent.

Turnbull scored 15 goals from midfield last year for Motherwell, and deservedly picked up the SFWA Young Player of the Year award. He has likely gone from the highest of highs to one of the lowest points of his young life to date, but there is no doubt that he can come back from this.

He is surrounded by good people. He has the talent to go wherever he wants to in the game. He also has the mentality to bounce back from this major setback.

If he can get to the level again for Motherwell that he was at last season, there is no reason at all why Celtic - or even others - wouldn’t reignite their interest in him. There is no reason either why Motherwell might not still get fair financial reward for producing such a talent, and there is absolutely no reason why – most importantly of all – the lad himself can’t go to the very top one day.

If he can do that, then everyone’s a winner.