MOTHERWELL manager Stephen Robinson has revealed that a deal to keep promising midfielder David Turnbull at the club is ‘very close’ to being completed.

The 19-year-old lifelong Motherwell supporter stressed during the week after hitting the winner against Hibernian at Fir Park that he was hoping to put pen to paper on a new contract as soon as possible, with his current deal up this summer.

The end of those protracted talks over his future now looks to be in sight, and Robinson says he will be delighted to put the matter to bed so that the youngster can focus fully on his football.

“The contract has been on the table for a few months now, and I believe that Alan (Burrows) and his agent are very close to getting that done,” Robinson said.

“David is a player we value highly, and we want him just to concentrate on playing football.

“The club are well protected by compensation, and we’ve put a very good deal to him that we expect him to sign sooner rather than later.

“We’ve got David at least until the end of the season, and I’ve been telling him to just concentrate on his game.

“We want him here, we’ve made that very, very clear in the offer that we’ve made him. We haven’t got a magic wand to wave to get more money unfortunately, otherwise the deal would have been long done.

“But I think David and his representatives are very keen for him to sign, and that would be a boost for everybody.

“He’s a talented boy, but he has a lot to learn when you look at the very top players and how they do everything. But David’s very, very talented on the ball and if we can continue to make him more aware about his positioning off the ball, then he can go and do anything he wants in the game.

“It’s been frustrating, but I believe that Alan is more than capable of dealing with that and he has done an extremely good job of it,

“I’m confident that it will get done.”

Robinson is still hopeful of adding to his squad further in the January transfer window following the signings of Ross McCormack and Gboly Ariyibi, but he wouldn’t be drawn on reported interest in a loan move for Rangers midfielder Jordan Rossiter.

“He’s a very good footballer, but he’s a Rangers footballer, and I don’t comment on another team’s players,” he said.

“I’d like to bring more players in, but money could be an issue.

“Every manager in clubs our size are the same. You want to bring more quality in, you want to bring more freshness in, but that will be dictated by whether we can move people on or not.”

Elliott Frear faces a late fitness test before this afternoon’s trip to face Dundee, while the match at Dens Park comes too soon for Aaron Taylor-Sinclair.

Meanwhile, the afore-mentioned Ariyibi is certain that fellow new arrival McCormack can have a similar impact at Motherwell once he is fully fit as he did when the pair’s paths crossed earlier in their careers.

“I played with Ross at Leeds United,” said Ariyibi. “He told me about the club and the league and he told me it would be a new challenge.

“He is a fantastic player, everyone knows what he is capable of, and it is great to have a guy like him in the squad. I think he can help the team get to where we want to be.”