One of the big success stories in this season’s Celtic team has undoubtedly been the emergence of Ryan Christie as a vital performer in the heart of the Hoops midfield.
Having spent the previous 18 months on loan with Aberdeen, expectations were low this summer that Christie could make the step up at Celtic and force his way into Brendan Rodgers’ first-team plans.
Progress was slow in the initial stages of the season, being limited to substitute appearances and one league start between August and October, but that was simply the calm before the storm.
Many point to his performance in the Scottish League Cup semi-final as his breakthrough moment in a Celtic shirt, skewering Hearts off the bench at Murrayfield, scoring and assisting twice in a stunning second half display.
Since then he’s been a destroyer in domestic action, scoring five goals in his last six league appearances and also netting the winner in the Scottish League Cup final, the competition he announced his arrival in.
Now it’s time for him to him to do in Europe what he’s managed in Scotland and show the continent that there’s a new young homegrown performer doing the business in the Hoops.
Christie is almost certain to start against Salzburg tonight after his performance against RB Leipzig on the last home matchday, in which he set up Odsonne Edouard’s winner to get our Group B qualification hopes back on track.
That assist was a sign that he isn’t content with the Scottish Premiership being ‘his level’ and that he can take his game to new heights against superior opposition.
Can he now get on the scoresheet and make the headlines scream his name again this season? A goal tonight would complete his fairytale rise at Celtic and start the next chapter of his Hoops career as a number one pick on Rodgers’ teamsheet.
I’m not betting against it.
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