Former top flight striker Gordon Dalziel has insisted that David Turnbull would have remained an important player for Celtic had he not left the club in the January transfer window.
Turnbull was no longer a certainty in the Celtic squad this season and was in and out of the team in the first half of the campaign.
He still managed to bag seven goals in 16 Scottish Premiership appearances but eventually left the club to join Cardiff City in the Championship down south.
Dalziel admitted that Turnbull might not have been as good as some of the other midfielders at Celtic but stressed that he could have scored the goals that the team needed at the moment.
He believes it was the right time for him to move on in the winter window but stressed that he would have made a major contribution in the latter half of the season had Celtic kept him.
Dalziel said on Clyde 1’s Superscoreboard: “I was a Turnbull fan.
“Is he in the same class as [Reo] Hatate or [Matt] O’Riley? No, probably not, but did he contribute to Celtic? A 100 per cent.
“I think he is a guy that can get you those goals from outside the box, set plays he was terrific, but there were times that Celtic fans got on his back and it’s all about opinions.
“His contract was up, there was a £2m and I think the lad had to get out and play football because he loves the game.
“I did think it was the right time and the right move, but I do believe from now until the end of the season, if Turnbull was still in the building, I am sure he could have contributed a lot to Celtic.”
Turnbull made his debut for Cardiff City in their 1-0 win over Watford last weekend when he came on from the bench for the final third of the game.
