Celtic youngster Francis Turley has left the club on an out-of-window loan deal, with lower-league teams still able to agree loans. The 20-year-old midfielder is a Northern Ireland under-21s international, scoring once in two appearances for that age group so far.
Turley has been plying his trade with Celtic B, and he has enjoyed a solid season so far. The midfielder has scored six times in 13 appearances across all competitions, also providing an assist.
But he will now head out on loan to the fourth tier of Scottish football, joining Dumbarton on a loan deal that will begin immediately, allowing him to compete in this weekend's clash with Forfar Athletic.
The Belfast-born midfielder has previously made a senior appearance for Celtic, and he has trained with the first team plenty up to this point. The loan deal will give him the chance to play senior football, which is increasingly important for young players in the modern system.
Dumbarton boss Frank McKeown said of the move: “Francis is a very creative midfielder who is rated very highly at Celtic so we’re delighted to bring him to the club. He’s a player who likes to create chances and score goals and we know our fans will enjoy watching him.
“This season he’s spent a lot of time training with Celtic’s first-team and on the fringes of their squad, but they’ve decided it would be best for his development if he got the experience of first team football every week in the SPFL. And we’re delighted to be trusted with helping him at the next stage of his career.”
“My thanks goes to everyone at Celtic, as well as everyone here at Dumbarton, who worked right up until the last minute to get this deal over the line. We’re looking forward to working with Francis over the coming months.”
Dumbarton are currently eighth out of 10 teams in League Two, but ir remains tight, and they face a Forfar team that is three places but just two points ahead of them this weekend.
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