Neil Lennon comments on David Turnbull latest

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Celtic’s battle to sign David Turnbull goes on…and on, and on.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon has told The Scottish Sun that target David Turnbull may need to go through ‘short-term pain’ to make his move to Parkhead.

The Bhoys teed up a deal to sign Turnbull two weeks ago, agreeing a £3.25million fee with Motherwell to sign the teenage midfielder.

Nobody could have predicted the saga that ensued. To cut a long story short, Celtic couldn’t find an agreement on a contract with Turnbull, then pulled out of the race entirely as Turnbull looked set for Norwich City.

Celtic somehow resurrected the deal last week, but there has been no announcement yet as the deal has taken another bizarre twist, with the 19-year-old’s medical proving to be a problem.

Turnbull – who hit 16 goals from midfield last season – has a knee problem that may require surgery, and Celtic are now back in talks with Motherwell about the next step forward.

It all means that the Turnbull saga is likely to enter a third week, with what looked like a nailed-on deal taking every twist and turn possible.

Now, Lennon has admitted that Turnbull may need to go through pain in order to make his move to Celtic and make progress, noting that Celtic still want him regardless of the hitch.

Lennon added that the two clubs must now sort out a new deal, which may hint at Celtic looking for some sort of price reduction, but the Bhoys remain confident of signing Turnbull this summer.

“There has been a glitch with the medical as you know,” said Lennon. “David might need have to go through some short-term pain for long-term progress. We still want him here – me and the club as a whole. It’s still ongoing, there’s still discussions going on between the clubs. But we’re still positive that we want him here.”

“It’s between the two clubs to try to get some deal sorted out. The situation is through no fault of David’s. It was just something that was unforeseen. We are still backing the lad and we want him to be part of the club, regardless of the injury. Discussions are ongoing with Motherwell and hopefully we can get a positive resolution,” he added.