Celtic could end up banking as much as £4m for the move that took Ryan Christie to Bournemouth, according to the Daily Record.
The Record claims that the Hoops did indeed receive £2.5m up front for the Scotland international. However, with add-ons, Celtic could rake in a further £1.5m to secure a respectable £4m fee.
Christie left Celtic with only four months left on his contract and the player ready to leave. There had been fears earlier in the window that the Hoops would only be able to rake in £1m for any deal [Daily Record].
But it looks as though the club has managed to strike a fine deal with Bournemouth for the transfer. Impressive stuff considering the circumstances.
Christie left Celtic having played 151 times and bagging 85 direct goal contributions. So far, however, he’s yet to be involved in any goals for Bournemouth despite making three appearances [Transfermarkt].
Celtic supporters have been left confused by the step-down to the Championship club. Especially considering the Bhoys are at the start of something under Ange Postecoglou.
Celtic can be pleased with true value of Ryan Christie sale
You’ve got to be pleased with that all things considered. You can see why Celtic were happy to strike a deal on those terms. Nobody would’ve thought a deal of up to £4m was doable earlier in the transfer window.
For some, of course, it may bring about regret. After all, if we could get £4m for Christie with only a few months left of his contract, perhaps we missed a trick selling him 12 months ago.
But it’s easy to say that now with 10-in-a-row gone. The truth is, had Celtic cashed in on any player last season, the board would’ve been accused of not caring about the 10. Would’ve been accused of selling our best players to make a quick buck.
This is the entire reason we had to sell with such a short period of time remaining on his contract. We took a gamble and it backfired.
It’s not as if Christie was ever going to sign a new deal either. That much was evident as far back as last season when he stalled talks. The warning lights were there, and this is unfortunately the position we’ve had to back ourselves into.
All eyes are now set on whether Christie will be a success in England. But from a Celtic perspective, we couldn’t have done any more this summer when it came to selling him.
In other news, Celtic boss’ promising update on Callum McGregor’s injury return
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