Celtic pundit Paul John Dykes has recently hailed the club’s midfielder Ryan Christie.
Dykes was recently hosting the latest episode of the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast and the panel discussed multiple issues involving the Bhoys. One topic of discussion was the club’s midfielder Christie and Dykes feels that the Scotsman’s performances will be key for Celtic this season.
Christie was involved in Scotland’s penalty shootout win over Serbia in the play-off final of the Euro 2020 qualifiers. The game had ended 1-1 after extra time and it was Christie who had scored the goal in normal time for Scotland (as per The Guardian).
Is Christie Celtic's most important player?
Yes
No
While talking about Christie on the podcast, Dykes said that the midfielder’s numbers for Celtic show the impact that he has on games.
He said: “Ryan Christie, now there’s a player that I have championed as often as possible on this podcast. I do think he is key to any success we have this season. He’s obviously elevated his profile after his performance against Serbia – obviously the interview afterwards probably added to that.
“112 games for Celtic, he’s now played; 36 goals, 34 assists. So you know, he’s been involved in 70 goals in 112 games. I think that shows you the impact, the creativity, the style and the type of player that he is. Interestingly for me, domestically, we’ve not lost a game this season with Ryan Christie in the team.”
TIF Thoughts on Dykes’ praise for Ryan Christie…
Christie, 25, has made 11 Premiership appearances this season and has already directly contributed to seven goals so far. As a result, he has picked up a very impressive rating of 7.65/10 in the league (as per WhoScored).
He has been Celtic’s highest-rated player in the league campaign. The Hoops have lost just one game in the league this season and Christie was missing in that game after having to quarantine. Meanwhile, last season, the Scotsman had a hand in 35 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions.
All of this is a reflection of how important Christie is for Celtic and Dykes’ praise for the midfielder is justified.