David Turnbull to stay at Motherwell after Celtic fail to 'revise transfer terms'

David Turnbull will remain at Motherwell player.

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One of the biggest on-again-off-again transfer sagas in recent years may well have reached a conclusion with the 19-year-old staying at his boyhood heroes following the collapse of the transfer.

A deal that would have taken the Scottish Writers' Young Player of the Year award winner to Celtic Park looked like it was on the verge of completion last week.

This was after Celtic had stated their dissatisfaction with the player's agent on Twitter and then reportedly pulled out of the deal amid interest from Norwich City.

However, the Parkhead club's medical team discovered an injury in Turnbull's knee that required surgery and a spell on the sidelines.

Celtic then tried to renegotiate the terms of the transfer with Motherwell, with manager Neil Lennon saying in this morning's papers that he was still confident of the deal going through.

The Fir Park side have now revealed that the deal is dead and Turnbull will remain in Lanarkshire where he'll undergo surgery and rehabilitation to fix the knee issue.

The club said in a statement: "David Turnbull is to remain a Motherwell player, with a proposed move to Celtic FC no longer taking place.

"An agreement was reached with the Glasgow club on 12 June, subject to the player agreeing personal terms, which he did, and undergoing a medical.

"During that medical process, an issue was identified that will require David to have immediate preventative surgery and subsequent rehabilitation.

"Celtic were still keen to sign the player despite this matter arising. But having presented revised transfer terms to Motherwell, the clubs could not reach an agreement.

"David will now remain at Fir Park and will shortly have an operation which will rule him out of any football for an extended period, the exact length to be determined following surgery.

"We will give David all the support he needs during this process. We wish him the best with his procedure and rehabilitation, and look forward to watching him play in claret and amber again in the near future."