Celtic are reportedly willing to offer Ryan Christie in exchange for Aberdeen winger Jonny Hayes.
Aberdeen’s Jonathan Hayes looks dejected after a missed chance
Jonny Hayes admitted that he would have trouble sleeping this summer after wasting a glorious chance to gift Aberdeen team-mate Kenny McLean with a crucial goal in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, as reported by the Daily Record.
With the scores at 1-1, that misplaced pass would have given The Dons the lead with just over 20 minutes remaining. Inevitably, opponents Celtic responded in ruthless fashion, Tom Rogic sealing a treble with a surging individual effort in stoppage time.
Though it appears that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is preferring to focus more on Hayes’ beautifully struck opener at Hampden Park rather than his second-half blunder. The Daily Mail reports that The Bhoys are hoping to rob the perennial runners-up of their talismanic winger this summer.
And The Express reports that they will attempt to sweeten an ambitious deal by offering Ryan Christie in exchange. Aberdeen know the 22-year-old well, after all, with Christie spending the last five months on loan at Pittodrie.
Strangely enough, the midfielder even won the club’s Young Player of the Year award.
Ryan Christie has barely featured for Celtic since moving from Inverness
For Christie’s sake
However, The Express adds that the deal may have hit a snag. Christie is a boyhood Celtic fan after all and is not so readily willing to give up his dream making himself a hero in green and white.
As such, it appears that Celtic may be forced to instead consider offering a cash sum of £2 million for Hayes, the only non-Hoops star nominated for Scotland’s Player of the Season award.
Although perhaps Celtic should use this opportunity to think better of a deal. Christie is just 22, seven years Hayes’ junior, and has the potential to take his game to a new level under Rodgers like Callum McGregor or Stuart Armstrong.
And would Hayes really be an improvement on the options already at Celtic’s disposal?
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