Ryan Christie was a brilliant servant for Celtic, and perhaps an under-appreciated performer.
After six trophy-laden years in the colours of Celtic, Christie left Glasgow and moved to the south coast of England to join Bournemouth in 2021.
The Cherries were in the Championship at the time, but now, under the stewardship of one of Europe’s highly-rated coaches, Andoni Iraola, they are pushing up the Premier League and dreaming of Europe.
Whilst Celtic’s 2025 summer transfer window was a huge pain, it was also a gut-wrenching one for Bournemouth, who lost several of their big stars to the likes of Real Madrid, Paris-Saint Germain and Liverpool.
And they have used that money to turn to a Celtic academy graduate for success. Step forward, Ben Doak.
Ryan Christie lauds former Celtic player Ben Gannon-Doak after Bournemouth transfer
Doak now wants to be known as Gannon-Doak, and the all-action winger is a Bournemouth player after joining from Liverpool for £25 million.
The 19-year-old will be playing alongside Christie, who stated that he is ‘such a talented’ player and ‘so positive on the ball.’
Speaking at his Scotland press conference, ahead of the international break, Christie also explained how his nation simply doesn’t produce players like Gannon-Doak anymore.
“Yeah, delighted,” stated Christie on Gannon-Doak’s move. “Brilliant move for him. Delighted I’ve got another Scotsman through the door, finally, at Bournemouth with me. He’s been great to see since he came in.
“I think it’s a great move for him in his career. He’s such a talented player. So kind of positive on the ball, and he’s a difference maker in games, to be honest, which you know at club level, we even probably need it internationally as well.
“He’s a type of player, to be honest, that we probably don’t make too many of in Scotland. Kind of pacey, you know, attacking wingers.
“He’s come in at Bournemouth and hit the ground running. Probably for him in his career, moving on from Liverpool. I know he has had a couple of good loan moves.
“But to kind of come out of that shadow of being the youngster that’s coming through and establishing yourself as a first-team player at another Premier League club is a great step for him.”
What has Gannon-Doak done since his Celtic exit?
It’s a big risk leaving a club the size of Celtic, at such a young age, and trying to pursue a career in a league that is deemed the best in the world, in terms of quality and speed.
Someone like Daniel Cummings faces that at West Ham, as many will find out this season what Gannon-Doak is all about.
One thing is for sure: he has shown great promise and quality in the English Championship for Middlesbrough, and when making that step up to the international level.
Gannon-Doak played more for Liverpool’s youngsters (29 games) than he did for the senior side (ten games), as his 24-game spell at Boro, where he had ten goal involvements, resulted in him getting many plaudits.
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