David Turnbull appears on course to meet mystery Celtic goal target

In his fledgling football career, David Turnbull already boasts a goal every second start.

David Turnbull scores his seventh goal in Celtic colours to provide the winner in his club's midweek 1-0 win over Aberdeen, and will secretly hope to more than break double figures for his debut season at Parkhead. (Photo by Craig Williamson/ SNS Group)

The Celtic attacking midfielder’s latest strike – another sweet-spot hit from distance that earned Neil Lennon’s men a 1-0 victory at home to Aberdeen – banked him goal No.7 for the club he joined in a £3.5million deal from Motherwell last summer. Add that to the 16 he bagged in 35 starts and six substituted appearances for the Fir Park club. The 21-year-old’s Celtic haul has come across his 16-game run of starts since he netted in the Europa League closer that produced a 3-2 victory at Lille in early December. His senior numbers then, in total, read 25 goals in 50 starts and 12 sub outings.

Little wonder that Turnbull admits to being a player that sets goal targets. The playmaker refuses to divulge the figure he set for himself in his first season at Parkhead, which he says has been altered by the four months it took for him to earn regular game-time.

Here we can speculate, though. Turnbull would have recognised he would need bedding-in time with Neil Lennon’s men. He would have hoped, no doubt, to have started a few more games before December to sit around the 30-game mark for his first Celtic campaign. Trusting his averages, it would seem reasonable to assume he was looking for the 15-goal return of his breakthrough season of 2018-19 with the Fir Park club. It is more likely that, injury and form permitting, he will end this season with around 25 starts. As a result, one of the few players to have shone for Celtic amid the gloom of an accursed quest for a tenth straight title is probably pitching for a 12-goal haul, though he won’t let on.

“I do set goal targets but I changed it a wee bit after the start of the season, because I wasn’t playing. But I hope I can get it,” Turnbull said. “I did the same at Motherwell. I feel I have been in great form and have scored some great goals. I would just like to keep adding to that. I would just like to continue creating and scoring as many chances as I can. I would say there is more to come. Obviously, against Aberdeen I scored another goal, but I would like to add to that and get more assists. I want to keep creating more chances in every game. I am sure there will be more to come. It obviously feels good when you get the plaudits some of the time, but it’s a team game. Every game I have been involved in I feel the team has done well. It is just nice to contribute however I can.”

Turnbull’s outstanding form has pushed his claim to be considered by Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for this summer’s Euros. The pathway patently exists with team-mates Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and James Forrest having proved crucial components of the national set-up. “We have great players in the team who have done well for both club and country over the years. I would like to follow in their footsteps and do the same,” he said. “Whether that happens or not I don’t know. But I hope so.”

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