Ryan Christie was one of the Celtic players who was unable to break into the first team even though many thought that he had the capability to start for most of the Scottish clubs. The fact that he is competing for a place with James Forrest down the right didn’t help his cause, and many expected that this could be the final season for him in Celtic colours as he entered in the last year of his contract.
However, it is more or less certain now that the attacking midfielder cum winger would sign a new deal with the club. Injuries off late to some first-team players have presented Christie with an opportunity to impress, and the 23-year-old has taken his chances well, and one can say he has been a standout player in the last few games where the Hoops have enjoyed some thumping wins.
Charlie Christie, Ryan’s father who himself was a Celtic player in his heydays recently gave an update about his son’s contract situation. He said, ”The talks about a new contract have been positive. All things being well, it will be done soon. I think the manager is going to speak to Ryan one-to-one this week. Ryan’s surrounded by top quality players. He loves it at Celtic.
“He’s been given a chance by Brendan Rodgers and he’s responded. That was very important. The fans are now seeing a lot more in him than maybe they did at first. Other clubs are interested but Celtic are his first choice, no question.”
We feel the last few games were crucial in Celtic offering a new contract as Christie took his chances with aplomb and made a big impact as a substitute in the League Cup semifinals against Hearts. Since then, Rodgers hasn’t been able to drop him from the first eleven and it would be interesting to see whether he would continue to see game time even when injured players are back.
The Scotsman has been at Celtic since 2015 but has found it hard to break into the first eleven. He spent the last season on loan with Aberdeen and the departure of Patrick Roberts and Stuart Armstrong probably made Rodgers keep hold of him at Park Head this season. However, not many would have foreseen the attacking midfielder signing a new contract, but he has passed his audition in the past month whenever he got an opportunity to play.
Sunderland were one of the clubs who were interested in making a move for him but it seems clear now that the player is going to extend his stay at Park Head and maybe in his second innings, he could go on to achieve greater glories on a personal level by becoming a regular at Celtic Park.
