Celtic FC may no longer have transfer laughter at Cardiff City’s expense | OneFootball

David Turnbull is finally performing well for Cardiff City, having joined the Bluebirds from Celtic back in 2024.

Cardiff City are enjoying a strong League One season and appear increasingly likely to seal an immediate Championship return.

The Bluebirds have further bolstered their impressive promotion credentials with successive routs of Rotherham United, Luton Town and AFC Wimbledon, scoring ten goals in their last three outings, and boast likely aspirations of beating Lincoln City to the third-tier title.

Cardiff had flirted with relegation from the Championship before suffering the drop to League One last campaign, but have been firing in the right direction under Brian Barry-Murphy.

The Welsh capital club proved their class when they went toe-to-toe with Chelsea in the EFL Cup quarter-finals in December, although they ultimately lost 3-1 to the Premier League giants.

It has been a rejuvenating campaign for all connected with the Bluebirds, ending years of turmoil and frustration for supporters. Naturally, of course, no shortage of success stories have emerged, and one player in particular has enjoyed a refreshing upturn in fortunes across recent months.

David Turnbull is finally proving his worth for Cardiff City following 2024 Celtic exit

David Turnbull has been one of League One's top performers as of late, regularly featuring for the Bluebirds and positively impacting games both in and out of possession.

The midfielder scored when his side defeated Luton on Saturday, showing that he has what it takes to produce the goods against some of the division's best opponents.

He also notched an assist on 7 February when Cardiff showed plenty of character to defeat Rotherham United 3-0, even though Ryan Wintle was sent off when the game was still goalless.

Turnbull also generated positive headlines when he scored for the Bluebirds in their EFL Cup clash with Chelsea, which levelled the scoreline at 1-1 before late goals from Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho secured a win for the West Londoners.

That was only his second goal for Cardiff nearly two years on from his arrival from Celtic, with the Scotsman having endured a mixed time in South Wales. According to BBC Sport, City paid around £2million to buy the 26-year-old from Celtic back in February 2024, in what was a head-turning deal under Erol Bulut at the time,

Turnbull had scored seven goals in 16 Scottish Premiership games before joining Cardiff midway through the 2023/24 campaign, but he was due to be out of contract that summer.

Therefore, Celtic thought they had got the better of the Bluebirds in the transfer market by earning a £2m fee for his services.

Furthermore, Turnbull was initially unable to have a strong impact in South Wales, failing to score in 17 appearances in the second half of the 2023/24 Championship season.

He then went on to score just one goal in 19 second-tier appearances last term, while he was unable to prevent the Bluebirds from being relegated to League One.

However, Turnbull has shown his quality in the third tier this campaign, and Cardiff should finally feel as though they are getting their money's worth.

Celtic struggles may make them view David Turnbull events differently

When Celtic sold Turnbull to Cardiff, they made a relatively handsome transfer fee on a player whose contract was set to expire at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

Therefore, the Glaswegian side would have been delighted with their business, while they remained the dominant force in the Scottish game back then.

In contrast, Celtic have performed far below their usual standards for the majority of this season, meaning that both Hearts and Rangers can stop them from retaining their title.

Now that they are struggling, the Bhoys may regret the fact that their former player, Turnbull, is producing the goods in League One, rather than potentially helping their Scottish Premiership title challenge, if they had opted against selling him two years ago.