Christie was linked with moves away from Celtic, with Sunderland said to be interested.
Scott McDonald has told BBC SportSound that he believes Ryan Christie was going to leave Celtic “at the end of August” as the Australian believed he had no future with the Scottish champions.
Christie, 23, signed a new contract at Celtic after a whirlwind month saw the former Aberdeen loanee come in from the cold and shine under Brendan Rodgers in green and white.
The attacking midfielder has been in sensational form, scoring once and creating Celtic’s two other goals in the Scottish League Cup semi-final win over Hearts, before providing the assist for Odsonne Edouard’s winner against RB Leipzig.
Returning to Celtic in the summer, though, things looked bleak for Christie. His contract was ending in June, and his chances of playing time were thin – former Celtic striker McDonald thought he was leaving.
“No, categorically no,” McDonald said, when asked if he thought Christie had a future at Celtic. “I thought he would go at the end of August. The loss of Moussa Dembele helped his cause a little bit in getting more of an opportunity.
“Not having that third striker, he was probably seen as another option. He’s done ever so well in training, impressed Brendan Rodgers with his attitude, and he’s taken his opportunity with both hands – you’ve got to give him credit.”
Sunderland and Barnsley were linked with Christie in the summer, with Celtic perhaps willing to sell Christie with the player out of favour and the club in danger of failing to pick up a fee for the ex-Inverness midfielder.
Christie is currently with the Scotland national team after being picked to face Albania and Israel in the UEFA Nations League, alongside teammates Scott Bain, Callum McGregor and James Forrest.
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