Celtic superstar Ryan Christie has provided a fresh update on his contract situation at Parkhead.
Christie’s current deal is due to expire in 2022 after signing a fresh three-year deal back in 2018. Since then, the attacking-midfielder has proven himself to be a superb asset for Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers before him.
Lennon has shown a major trust in Christie that can’t be underestimated. This season alone, he has played in all 13 of Celtic’s matches. To put it into perspective even further, the former Inverness Caley Thistle man has started 11 of them – securing three goals and seven assists (Transfermarkt).
Yet as he continues to provide direct goal contributions consistently, there’s a growing need to sign him up for the long-term. Even so, Christie appears to be relaxed about the situation.
As quoted by the Scotsman, the Scotland international said: “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. I’ve still got plenty of time on my current contract.
“Before this one, I was down to five months to go before we signed a new deal. So there’s plenty of time for that to resolve itself. It’s not occupying my thoughts just now and I’ve said that to the manager as well.
“It’s crazy these days when people go into the last two years of their contract and there’s a big freak out about when they’re going to sign the next one. It’s changed days. My dad always reminds me of when he’d go down to the last week of his contract and still hadn’t heard anything, it’s strange but I’m just enjoying playing again.”
Celtic can’t allow similar scenarios to occur
Christie has a point when he talks about there being a bit of a panic when players enter the final two years of their deals. However, these days, those fears are justified.
If a player is allowed to go into the final year of his contract, his valuation comes right down, whilst they can sign a pre-contract elsewhere when they enter the final six months.
Christie talks about how he was down to the final five months of his previous deal before signing a new one. That’s all well and good, but there can’t be a repeat of that this time around. If that were to happen, he would undoubtedly have all sorts of offers on the table from rival clubs. That’s such a dangerous road to go down from Celtic’s perspective.
It’s also perhaps a tad concerning that his dad, former Celt Charlie Christie, is reminding him of days when his contract would go down to the last days. Football has changed a great deal since then, and Christie should know that’s not a road Celtic will want to go down.
The most worrying thing here is the player’s willingness to push back talks. You can perhaps call it noble given everything that’s gone on in the world. but there’s definitely something about it that doesn’t sit too well.
Hopefully, this does all get resolved in the medium-term. But going by what Christie says, there’s not going to be a solution anytime soon.
In other news, one of Celtic’s summer signings has been hailed by an ex-Liverpool UEFA Cup winner.
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