Celtic must now expect serious transfer interest in Ryan Christie

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Ryan Christie has been a revelation at the start of the season for Celtic.

It is remarkable to think that it was less than a year ago that Ryan Christie was working to try and force his way into the Celtic starting lineup after returning to Parkhead having spent the previous 18 months on loan at Aberdeen.

Brendan Rodgers did not hand Christie a league start last season until late September when the Hoops faced Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. And the midfielder’s first goal of the campaign did not come until more than a month later.

Since then however, the 24-year-old has almost been unstoppable.

He ended the season with 11 goals in all competitions. It was an impressive tally given that he did not begin the season as a starter. But that tally already looks mediocre in light of how Christie has started this campaign.

The Scotland international has scored eight goals in eight games, with the most recent coming at the end of a brilliant move alongside Odsonne Edouard in the agonising defeat to Cluj in their Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night.

Christie is threatening to become Celtic’s newest talisman; the player the Hoops turn to when they need a moment of inspiration. And given the quality that the Bhoys have in attack, that is certainly saying something.

But that is exactly why Celtic now need to prepare themselves for future interest in Christie. If his current form continues, it seems inevitable that the Hoops will be fielding significant offers for the midfielder during one of the upcoming transfer windows.

He is young enough to get even better in the future. And given that he is already scoring a considerable number of goals, it is not difficult to imagine that plenty of teams are already weighing up making a future move for the midfielder.

Neil Lennon will be hoping that there is no end in sight to Christie’s purple patch. But the longer that form continues, the harder it is going to be for Celtic to keep him out of the spotlight.