Celtic legend Chris Sutton has recently given his views about the future of Ryan Christie.
Sutton made an appearance on the latest episode of the Record Celtic podcast and the Hoops legend was asked about multiple issues involving the club. He was asked about the situation of numerous Celtic stars and one of those players was midfielder Christie. Sutton believes that Christie would be a ‘big’ loss for Celtic and his future ultimately depends on his own decisions.
Should Celtic hand Christie a new contract?
Yes
No
Christie was linked with a move to Burnley some months ago and it was stated that Sean Dyche’s men have continued to monitor his progress since his time at Inverness. The report also claimed that talks were going on for Christie to extend his contract. Ligue 1 side Nice were also looking to sign the Scotsman and they were reported to have readied a £10 million bid for him.
Sutton praised Christie for his commitment to the Bhoys and believes that he is well within his rights to seek a move to England in the summer transfer window.
The Celtic legend said: “It’s up to the player, isn’t it, really? The one thing I’d say about Ryan Christie – whenever he pulls on a Celtic jersey, when he steps across the white line, he’s always given 100%. You know that you’re going to get the required level of attitude from him. And I think the same can’t be said about all players.
“I think that he’s entitled to keep his options open and maybe look for a move down. I think that’s fine as long as the levels are still there, and they have been with him. Now it’s up to Celtic to make him an offer that he can’t refuse, but there’s no doubt that he’s going to be a big, big loss to this Celtic team.”
TIF Thoughts on Christie’s future…
Christie’s current contract at Parkhead runs out in the summer of 2022 and he last signed an extension back in 2018 only.
In the current campaign, the Scotsman has contributed to 18 goals in all competitions. In the Premiership, he has nine assists and four goals (as per Transfermarkt). As a result of that, he has been Celtic’s second-best rated player in the campaign.
While this shows that he’s an important goal creator for the Bhoys, the upcoming summer may well be Celtic’s best chance of earning a good fee from his sale. Because if he doesn’t sign an extension, Celtic wouldn’t want to lose him on a free transfer in 2022.