Pundit Richard Foster has questioned Ryan Christie’s motivations after the playmaker swapped Celtic for Bournemouth. The Partick Thistle full-back told BBC Sportsound that other departures have made a move that puts them on a path towards going to a top Premier League team whilst Christie has swapped Celtic for a Championship club.
Christie left in a deal worth £4m with £2.5m upfront for the Scotland Internationalist. However, the move appears to have confused a number of fans as playing in front of 60,000 fans, playing in European and for trophies was swapped for a team that will be challenging for promotion.
“I still struggle with the concept of players that are playing most weeks for a team like Celtic and they want away.
“Ajer has went to Brentford and they’re in the Premiership but with all respect, it’s Brentford. Edouard has went to Crystal Palace and he’s had a great start. I know these guys are probably hoping to do what Van Dijk done and bounce on, and get to the top teams.”
“But Christie is the one I really can’t understand. You’ve left a club like Celtic who are challenging to win titles and cups, if they win the league this year they go straight into the Champions League group stage.
“And he’s left to go to Bournemouth. Celtic are one of the biggest teams in the world, they’ve got a fanbase everywhere.
“Go to Australia, you’ll see people with Celtic tops on. I’ve been to America, you’re walking down streets in Las Vegas and there’s hordes of Celtic fans walking about.
“You can’t get away from these Scottish teams and I can’t get my head around why you’d want to go to a smaller team down in England.”
Celtic had held discussions with the playmaker’s representatives but a decision to sell was made as Christie was free to leave for nothing as early as January. Christie was a mainstay in the Celtic sides that won the Treble Treble and Quadruple Treble and leaves to join the Championship club having scored 41 goals and 45 assists in 151 appearances for Celtic. His final appearance came in the defeat to Rangers, a poor end to what will be regarded as an excellent career in the Hoops.
