Roy Keane wowed by improvement of ‘outstanding’ player who left Celtic under Ange Postecoglou

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The grass isn’t always greener when you leave Celtic.

That has been proven when a few star players have departed in recent transfer windows and their struggles are there for all to see.

In some aspects, such as Kyogo Furuhashi leaving Celtic in January, his departure surprised the fans, especially given that he decided to join Rennes in France’s top-tier.

Then there is Matt O’Riley who joined Brighton in the summer and Celtic had no choice but to accept the record amount of money that was put on the table for his services.

As of this moment, those are the departures that haven’t worked out and it’s going to be interesting to see how they fare in the coming months and years.

But then there are those who, under the radar, are thriving and even pushing for Champions League football, as Ryan Christie is doing in Bournemouth colours.

READ MORE: Ryan Christie still has his eye on Celtic after 2021 exit

Roy Keane hails Ryan Christie’s improvement after leaving Celtic

Bournemouth faced Ange Postecoglou’s under pressure Tottenham on Sunday in London, as the away side let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2.

In the build-up to the match, Roy Keane was giving his flowers to Bournemouth, their manager Andoni Iraola and the club’s recruitment.

But Keane also wanted to highlight the players that have improved at the club and he lauded Christie for being ‘outstanding’, as he told Sky Sports Premier League (09/03/25 at 1:50 pm).

“We praise their recruitment (at Bournemouth), but also the improvement of the players like Ryan Christie,” said Keane. “He has been outstanding in the last few months.

“So, the manager deserves credit for that because he (Christie) was already at the club and he is improving him and that’s what a really good manager does.”

Christie’s stats for Bournemouth this season in Champions League chase

Christie has always been a versatile player, but during his days at Celtic, he has always been used to playing attacking roles rather than defensive ones.

But, in the colours of Bournemouth, he has mainly played deeper in midfield or that number six role and has earned himself a healthy rating of 6.95 by WhoScored.

Whether the Cherries play in Europe’s elite competition next season or not, it’s great to see Christie performing so well and that call he made to leave Celtic is now paying off.

Remember, when he departed in 2021, with Postecoglou in the dugout, he left the champions and joined a team, at the time, who were in England’s second-tier and now he is being rewarded for it.