Brendan Rodgers has already started making plans for next season as Celtic manager and he has to do a lot of work, fast, since Mark Warburton has been on a rampage to sign players for Old Firm rivals Rangers.
The former Liverpool man will be evaluating all the stars at the club and would be looking to cull some of the players from the squad as he looks to stamp his authority in the side. Celtic are defending Scottish Premiership champions and more importantly, they would need to retain the title and make it to the UEFA Champions League group stages to be considered a success under Rodgers.
The Northern Irishman also would have to look deep into the squad and one player looking to make a huge impact for the side is Ryan Christie. The 21-year-old signed for Celtic in September 2015 and was loaned back to Inverness Caledonian Thistle before he picked up an injury against Motherwell.
The youngster was brought back to the Celtic side to ensure he gets back to full fitness and made his debut in January 2016 in a win over St Johnstone. The Scotland U21 player now will be looking to impress his new manager and had a lot to say about his chances under the new manager.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Christie didn’t really get a lot of chances to impress under earlier manager Ronny Deila and will be looking to have a greater impact for the side this season.
“I don’t know how much he knows about me but he’ll see what I’m like in training and judge from that. I’ll have to play it by ear but my aim is to stay at Celtic. Not to be going anywhere.”
There is some good news for Christie though, he will be a new player under Rodgers and will look to impress him during pre-season. It is a clean slate for the attacking midfielder, who does have a lot of competition in his role from the likes of Tom Rogic, Scott Allan and Kris Commons, to name a few.
The former Liverpool manager was known to bring an extensive brand of football to both his former clubs and also was known to give youngsters a chance on a regular basis. Christie could get his chance to do well but he has to work hard in pre-season and show that the injury which he suffered last time around is not affecting him.
Rodgers will hope to have a lot of fit players raring to go next season and with every player on tenterhooks, this could be Christie’s moment to shine.