Celtic appear to have backed away from the David Turnbull stakes.
According to The Scottish Sun, Motherwell midfielder David Turnbull is set for a £3million move to Norwich City after Celtic ended their interest.
19-year-old Turnbull enjoyed a superb season for Motherwell, smashing 16 goals and seven assists to attract major interest in his signature this summer.
Celtic had agreed a £3million deal, but couldn’t find an agreement with the teenager himself last week, admitting that they had made him a ‘fantastic’ offer, but ultimately wouldn’t be held to ransom by the youngster.
It’s now claimed that Celtic were offering him a huge pay rise. Turnbull is on just £600-a-week at Motherwell, but Celtic were offering him a £12,000-a-week deal, which was still shy of Turnbull’s staggering £20,000-a-week demands.
Celtic have now backed away from the deal completely, and Norwich City have swooped in to agree a deal, seemingly willing to pay the wages Turnbull is looking to earn.
The news is a huge blow for Neil Lennon, who would have loved to have another exciting midfielder alongside Callum McGregor, Tom Rogic and Ryan Christie in the Celtic engine room.
However, paying £20,000-a-week to Turnbull would have been ill-advised. That’s more than some of Celtic’s treble-winners are earning, and after one great season, the Bhoys were right not to break their wage budget.
Turnbull may go on to have a great career, but Celtic fans won’t forget his demands and how he priced himself out of a big move to Parkhead – and Lennon must now attempt to find a target just as good as Turnbull.
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