THERE are a number of exciting Scottish Premiership prospects that are worth getting excited about. With that in mind, we'll be revealing our top 10 players under 21 currently plying their trade in the top flight. In order to be considered, players have to be based in Scotland permanently and have to have a significant number of minutes under their belts this season. The likes of Karamoko Dembele at Celtic or Rangers' Dapo Mebude might go on to become stars, but it's still a little too early to say for sure. Without any further ado, here's our number 1...
Where do you even begin with a player like David Turnbull? The attacking midfielder featured a few times for Motherwell in 2017/18 season, but it is this season that he has well and truly come to the fore. Turnbull finished the season with 15 goals for Stephen Robinson's side; a truly remarkable return, given the player's age and the fact that he isn't even a forward. Only two Premiership players - Alfredo Morelos (18) and Sam Cosgrove (17) - scored more than the central midfielder this season.
READ MORE: The top 10 Premiership youngsters | 2: Connor McLennan
However, merely examining the number of goals that Turnbull has provided doesn't tell the whole story. Not only has Turnbull been one of the Premiership's most prolific goalscorers, he has managed this while scoring lots of low-probability shots. No other player has more goals from outside the box this season, and when we examine Turnbull's expected goals (xG), we get a clearer picture of just how exciting the Fir Park youth product is.
READ MORE: The top 10 Premiership youngsters | 3: Mikey Johnston
The graphic above highlights the goals and xG of the Scottish top flight's top four goalscorers for the 2018/19 campaign, and the reuslts are illuminating to say the least. Turnbull has an xG of just 7.37, meaning that the attacking midfielder has scored twice as many goals as he reasonably ought to have, based on the quality of the chances presented to him. This is a mammoth discrepancy; players like Morelos, Cosgrove and Odsonne Edouard have all have a higher xG than their actual goals scored - which indicates impressive form in front of goal - but this is usually around the two or three goal mark. Turnbull's discrepancy of 7.63 is comfortably the highest in the Premiership, and highlights just how effective the youngster has been in front of goal.
READ MORE: Motherwell want £3million for Celtic target David Turnbull
A quick look at Turnbull's shot accuracy tells a similar story. The 19-year-old is the most accurate player in the Premiership, with more than half of his shots hitting the target: no other player in the Scottish top flight can say the same. It's this outstanding technical ability that has set Turnbull apart from his peers and led to interest from a number of Premier League clubs, as well as Celtic.
Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows has said that the club will not stand in Turnbull's way, should the youngster decide to leave Lanarkshire this summer, but has insisted that Motherwell will only consider buds that would be a record sale for the club. That figure currently stands at the £1.75 million that the Fir Park outfit received for Phil O'Donnell from Celtic back in 1994, but, given Turnbull's level of performance this season, a figure closer to £3 or £4 million might be more likely. One thing is for certain; whoever wins the bidding war for Turnbull's services will be landing one of the most exciting Scottish prospects in a generation. The sky's the limit for the young midfielder, and he looks to be a very special player indeed.
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