NEIL Lennon says that Celtic are still hopeful of landing David Turnbull as he revealed that the move for centre-back Christopher Jullien is nearing completion.
As well as being hopeful that the issue thrown up by Turnbull’s medical can be amicably solved between Celtic and Motherwell, Lennon hopes to land Toulouse stopper Jullien within 48 hours, allowing him to join up with his new teammates in Austria shortly.
In regards to Turnbull, Lennon says there has never been any doubt that he still wants to bring the 19-year-old to the club.
“It’s still ongoing, there’s still discussions going on between the clubs, but we’re still positive that we want him here,” Lennon said.
“[It] would be between the two clubs to try to get some deal sorted out. But we are still very much in discussions with them.
“The situation is through no fault of David’s. It was just something that was unforeseen. We are still backing the lad and we want him to be part of the club, regardless of the injury.
“Discussions are ongoing with Motherwell and hopefully we can get a positive resolution,
“We are not out of it, put it that way.
“David might need have to go through some short-term pain for long-term progress.”
Lennon has been working behind the scenes to push the deal for Jullien over the line, and he is confident that Celtic have done enough to persuade the player his future lies in Scotland.
“We are getting close with Jullien, hopefully we can get something sorted in the next day or so,” he said.
READ MORE: What can Celtic fans expect from Christopher Jullien?
“We have been tracking him for a while and we like we what we see with him.
“Negotiations have gone well, so it’s a case of getting the paperwork sorted.
“I like him. He’s a dominant type and very powerful. We are just looking for a bit more pace and power in the team to add a jag to the squad.
“He’s a quality player and he’s had a couple of really good years in the top echelons of French football.
“Hopefully we can get it over the line - but it’s not done yet.
“If we get it done, we’d look to get him to Austria as soon as possible.”
Celtic are also understood to be favourites to land left-back Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo from Rapid Vienna and a £3m deal may be close. But Celtic will not be pursuing interest in Copenhagen full-back Peter Ankersen.
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