DAVID Turnbull’s proposed move to Celtic is on the verge of collapse after the player’s agent and the club were unable to agree terms on a contract.
Motherwell accepted an offer of £3m plus add-ons for the 19-year-old on Wednesday, and the move was expected to go through by the end of the week.
But Celtic released a statement yesterday evening through Twitter detailing that they had made their best offer to Turnbull via his representative Liam O’Donnell, and that if it wasn’t accepted, they would move on to other targets.
The statement read: “Celtic FC was pleased to agree a record-breaking fee with Motherwell FC for David Turnbull and we have quickly followed this up with a fantastic offer to the player through his agent.
“Currently, we have been unable to come to an agreement with the player’s agent. Celtic is content that it has made a magnificent offer and it is now up to the agent and player to decide if the player wants to join Celtic.
“If not, we move on.”
The surprise twist to the transfer negotiations comes just days after Celtic upped an initial informal offer of around £1.2m for the Scotland under-21 international, amid fears that the numerous English clubs also looking to secure his signature would swoop in.
Celtic have been keen to avoid a similar scenario to last summer when they lost out on John McGinn to Aston Villa, but while they were prepared to meet Motherwell’s demands over the transfer fee for Turnbull, they appear ready to walk away from contract negotiations even if it means losing out on the player.
The deal is not yet dead, with the two parties believed to not be hugely far apart, but an unwillingness to budge on either side may mean that Turnbull stays at Motherwell for the timebeing.
As yet, the Fir Park club have yet to receive any other offers since knocking back a bid from Barnsley last week, and they are set to hold firm with their valuation of the player.
Herald Sport understands that the Fir Park club are comfortable with the latest developments and would have no issue with the player remaining at the club should a buyer not be found that is willing to meet their valuation.
It is also understood that Turnbull left a holiday with Motherwell teammates in Spain in order to have a medical prior to this impasse developing, but the player himself is not agitating for a move away from the club should the deal in fact collapse.
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