Former England international , Paul Robinson, has claimed Ryan Christie is the “driving force” behind the Parkhead side’s recent sensational form.
In an interview with Football Insider, Robinson is effusive in his praise of a player who was nearly out the door at Paradise following an indifferent start to his Celtic career.
So what has Robinson said?
Robinson was asked if he feels that Christie has become Celtic’s key man and replied with:
“It was like a year or so ago when he scored the winning goal in the League Cup, which started the first leg of the treble last year, he’s gone from the forgotten man to an important player to almost the driving force”.
“I think he’s got better and is still getting better, he had better stats than James Maddison at one point, I think for his goal tally this year, he has already got 15 goals and nine assists, he is scoring for Scotland as well”.
“He seems to have added an extra-yard of pace to his game, he maybe 24, but I think he is improving and is still getting better”.
So is Robinson correct?
It would take a brave person to argue against, put it that way! Christie is on 15 goals and 10 assists for the season and is currently the Hoops top goal scorer, eclipsing even the exploits of Odsonne Edouard and neither have been injured for any period of time either.
Christie has grown into the inside forward or shadow striker role that he plays so well, not only does he time his runs from deep into the box to perfection but he is arguably the best long-range shooter in the league.
As a self-confessed Celtic fan and with his Dad also being a former player, Ryan maybe took a while longer than most signings to adapt to the pressure and mental strength needed to cope with life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
Is Ryan Christie Celtic's best player?
Yes
No
Christie is maturing into and excellent footballer, fast, skilful, intelligent and with the ability to finish on either foot, fnot many would disagree with Robinson’s claim that he is now Celtic’s prized asset. Much of the talk recently has been about “how would they cope without Edouard?”, 7 goals in 2 games show that they can cope just fine, Christie has become the main man and is thriving in his new found responsibility, to the extent that few would bet against him being the match winner in this year’s league cup final too.