Report: Burnley leading the race for £5m-rated Celtic attacker Ryan Christie

By David Walton

August 8, 2021

Burnley are the club in pole position to land Celtic attacker Ryan Christie this summer, according to the Sunday Mirror [print edition, 08/08, page 75].

The England-based newspaper claims that both Southampton and Leicester are also keen. However, the latter will only make a move if James Maddison departs the King Power Stadium.

The report states that Christie wants a new challenge after six years in Glasgow. It’s said that Celtic could rake in as much as £5m if sold before the transfer window closes this month.

This comes right when manager Ange Postecoglou has been hailing the player’s attitude. Postecoglou believes Christie has been “really enthusiastic” since he arrived at the club [Scottish Sun]. However, no new contract has been signed.

The attacker can be snapped up on a pre-contract deal for nothing at the moment. With his deal expiring in the unusual period of January, speculation has gone on and on about what the future holds for the former Inverness man.

Burnley reportedly looking to move for Ryan Christie; Celtic should snatch £5m if they can get it

First off, £5m is nowhere near the true valuation of Christie. Not when you consider everything he has given to Celtic over the years and the achievements he has at the club. Not to mention he’s an internationalist with experience in a major tournament and has incredible technical ability.

However, we have to be realistic at this stage. For me, if Christie was going to sign a new contract he would’ve done so by now. There’s no logical reason for it to drag out this long. Celtic have been looking to seal an agreement with him now for almost a year [The Scotsman].

There had been reports earlier this summer that we were looking at bagging as little as £1m for him [Sunday Post]. If we could get £4m extra for a player who underperformed last season, it’s a good deal for the club.

Of course, allowing it to get to this situation is another thing altogether. Celtic deserve all the stick they get for allowing a top asset to have his contract expire mid-season. What if he was to become a vital cog in the team over the next few months? We could be about to suffer a major loss.

Granted, Celtic should have enough cover if needed. Tom Rogic and David Turnbull can both thrive in the number 10 position. Albeit the former has struggled for form over the last couple of campaigns.

It’s not surprising to see the club’s queue up for Christie in any case. He has the pedigree to his name to be worth a punt. Especially for the bargain price he can be bought at.

The next few weeks are going to be extremely interesting.

In other news, James McCarthy addresses Republic of Ireland future after Celtic move