Motherwell have never seen anything close to the reported figures David Turnbull is set to leave the club for. It’s precisely why the club have had to accept Celtic’s bid for their prize asset.
After weeks of rumours, Motherwell finally announced that Turnbull has been allowed to speak to Celtic. A fee has been agreed, all that is left to do is for Turnbull to thrash out terms with the Bhoys.
7th April 2019, Fir Park, Motherwell, Scotland; Ladbrokes Premiership football, Motherwell versus Rangers; David Turnbull of Motherwell grapples with Eros Grezda of Rangers (photo by Vagelis Georgariou/Action Plus via Getty Images)
The club haven’t released what the club will receive for him, but have stated it’ll be ‘transformational’ for the club as a whole.
The Daily Record have reported the deal is worth £3 million plus £250,000 in add-ons. The Scottish Sun have reported it will be £2.8 million now, with add-ons potentially taking the fee to £3.2 million.
With those type of figures being thrown around, it’s not hard to see or understand why the club have accepted a bid. The largest fee Motherwell have ever received for a player was when Phil O’Donnell moved to Celtic for £1.75 million back in 1994.
Turnbull’s deal will benefit the club overall but short-term effects could be damaging
Back in 1994 that was a staggering sum of money. The Turnbull deal will be blow that transfer out the water.
O’Donnell cost Celtic £1.75 million. (Ben Radford/Allsport)
Financially it’s a game changer for the club. It’ll clear any existing debts the Well Society currently have, making Motherwell a debt-free club. It’ll also allow for significant investment into the youth academy that has been so profitable for the club recently.
Fir Park itself may even see upgrades. They only updated the ancient scoreboard that was on the South Stand last season and even the new one has its problems. Fixing small teething issues like that around the ground is a must.
Fans will expect investment into the squad now and there has to be. The fee is going to be so large that the excuse of it’s going to support initiatives around the club isn’t really valid.
Investment in the playing staff is a must. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Manager Stephen Robinson has to see some of the cash. Is it too ambitious to think that the record fee of £500,000 the club paid for John Spence in 1999 could be broken?
It is. All this means playing wise is that they can offer stars like Chris Cadden and Allan Campbell better deals. It also means they can compete with bigger English clubs for players.
Turnbull’s departure will benefit the club massively in the long-run. Initially though, when it comes to talking on the pitch, the team are going to seriously struggle.
A massive financial benefit. (photo by Alan Rennie/Action Plus via Getty Images)
The midfielder was the club’s best player by a country mile and they can’t really buy another one like him. The 2019/20 season will be an extremely testing one for the Steelmen.