If the stories are to be believed, Arsenal, along with a host of other clubs from the English Premier League look to be chasing Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie in a possible January transfer move. Christie’s contract runs out in the summer of 2022 and he is yet to sit down with manager Neil Lennon to talk about an extension.
Brighton, Southampton, Leicester, Newcastle and Burnley are apparently all tracking the Scotland international and it seems that unless a contract between Christie and the Hoops can be agreed, he could leave for a reduced fee.
Christie made his breakthrough to the Celtic team under previous boss Brendan Rodgers in 2016 but really cemented his place in season 2017/18 when he made forty two appearances for the Hoops in al competitions, scoring eight and creating fifteen goals. That form continued into the following season where in thirty eight outings, Christie increased his scoring tally to eleven goals and created nine.
Christies best year in a Celtic jersey was last season where in 45 appearances he scored an outstanding twenty goals in all competitions and created sixteen assists. Christie has been the first name on the team sheet until this term, where some indifferent form for his club has seen the emergence of David Turnbull as direct competition for his place.
Celtic fans will be hoping Christie extends his contract but the midfielder is not worried about the situation just yet, “I’ve spoken to the manager a few times up to this point. With everything going on, I didn’t think it was the right time to go into it.
“We hadn’t played football in so long and weren’t back playing. Obviously, now it’s a bit different but I’ve still got plenty of time on my current contract.
“Before this one I was down to five months to go at Celtic until we signed a new deal, so there’s plenty of time for that to resolve itself.
“I’m just enjoying football again after the long break. It’s not occupying my thoughts just now and I’ve said that to the manager as well.”