Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers explains his decision to sell David Turnbull in the January transfer window.

Under Brendan Rodgers, departures were almost unavoidable during the mid-season window.

Back in December, the Irishman stated that his ideal squad size for the Scottish champions would be around 25 players, which is significantly lower than the current number of players on the payroll.

Nonetheless, despite the fact that Yuki Kobayashi, James McCarthy, and Gustaf Lagerbielke were rumoured to be on their way out [Anthony Joseph], the Hoops were unable to offload them.

Fans were perplexed to see veteran midfielder McCarthy remain in Glasgow after Celtic turned down a loan offer from Volos FC for the 33-year-old, who hasn’t played since October 2022 [Sky Sports].

The Bhoys did manage to broker deals that saw Yosuke Ideguchi, Hyeokkyu Kwon, Mikey Johnston, Marco Tilio, Adam Montgomery, and David Turnbull leave the building in various capacities, thereby reducing the headcount at Lennoxtown.

Turnbull was probably the most notable outgoing during the mid-season window, as his sale to Cardiff City returned £2 million to the club despite the fact that he only had a few months left on his contract [Football Scotland].

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers explains David Turnbull’s exit.

Some Celtic fans will be wary of the decision to sell Turnbull in light of Reo Hatate’s calf injury, which will sideline him for five to six weeks.

Tomoki Iwata has returned to training; however, the 26-year-old is not yet at full speed, and it is unclear when he will be able to return to contention following his own injury struggles.

Despite this, the Hoops completed the sale, and Rodgers has now explained why the club made the decision, telling the Scotsman: “It goes back to the summer, knowing where David was at in his thinking.

“Obviously he was in the last year of his contract so I felt it was best for us and for him to get out and play. He has done well here. It hasn’t worked out quite how he wanted it to, but he is a good guy, he worked very hard and now he will have the chance to have a permanent place to play.”

David Turnbull’s goals will be missed at Celtic.

Turnbull wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and he may not have been the most athletic player to ever wear the green and white hoops, but his eye for goal rarely faltered.

According to Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old has scored seven goals in 16 Scottish Premiership appearances this season.

To put his strike rate into context, no one else in the squad has a higher league goal ratio per 90 minutes than Hyeongyu Oh, who is a distant second at 0.75 [Fotmob].

Yes, it was probably time for Turnbull to take the next step in his career, but it is a little concerning that no one has been brought in to try to replicate his midfield contributions.

in other news, Brutal Reo Hatate Celtic diagnosis emerges following Japan’s injury blow.