Back to league business and Celtic’s trip to Easter Road yesterday didn’t go as planned as Brendan Rodgers’ side dropped points for only the second time this season.
Going to Hibernian can be difficult at the best of times but going to the Leith club after such an energy-sapping performance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League added a new dimension to the SPFL tie.
And didn’t the tiredness show? Celtic looked lacking in energy, penetration and the direct attacking football that the fans have been enjoying over the last few weeks just wasn’t there.
It was clearly evident that the team was tired which explained why Brendan Rodgers had to take off the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda mid-way through the second half.
Speaking post-match, however, Rodgers was analysing the performances of the substitutions when he name-checked one player that he feels is one of the most technically gifted at the club.
Rodgers said [Sky Sports], “Oh give us a physical presence through the middle and Dave Turnbull allows us to take the ball and work openings because he’s technically so good.
“So the last 20 minutes I was pleased with. Just the tempo and the rhythm and getting into some really good areas. It’s just a shame we couldn’t do that much earlier.”
If he’s so good, why have Celtic not extended David Turnbull’s contract?
That is the million-dollar question. Turnbull’s contract expires at the end of the season and TBR Celtic discussed this a few weeks back.
We said that Brendan Rodgers has a decision to make on Turnbull as he is free to talk to clubs in January. Either Celtic offer him a new deal, risk losing him for nothing or put him up for sale and try to get some sort of return on the £3m they paid for him three seasons ago.
Turnbull’s situation at Celtic really is baffling. For a player that had so much potential, his fall from the first team has been hard to watch. But it hasn’t been all his own fault.
A hamstring injury sustained in 2021 put him out for months and when Celtic signed Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate in 2022, that gave Turnbull a mountain to climb to get his place back in the side.
After impressing in the early parts of this season, Turnbull has found himself back on the Celtic bench. However, with Reo Hatate out with a hamstring injury himself, the 24-year-old now has the perfect opportunity to stake a place in the Celtic team.
He needs to now take it.
In other news, ‘I’ve got to’: Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have points to make about Celtic after watching Atletico game