I was somewhat surprised to hear David Turnbull had signed a new deal with Motherwell (reported by The Evening Times) after finally making his return from injury. Given the interest in him from Celtic and other clubs, Motherwell have done well to pin down the midfielder.

However, I was less surprised when I saw the length of the new deal. Turnbull has shown his respect, and proven himself to be a loyal person by signing a one-year extension with the Fir Park club.

His deal still had another season to go after this one, but the new deal will lock him down for the next two years.

What does this mean for Celtic if they’re still interested in him?

They’ll have to pay the same amount of money they were willing to stump up last summer.

Much like when Stuart Armstrong wanted to move on from Celtic, the midfielder did the club a service by signing a new one-year extension so they’d receive a reasonable fee for him when he did move on.

This is what Turnbull appears to be doing.

The midfielder must prove he can still play to the level that initially won him a move to Celtic. If he can do that, there’s no reason why Neil Lennon wouldn’t want him. It’s by no means a guarantee Celtic will land the player, but it’s not out of the question.