AFC Bournemouth had a busy day on transfer deadline day, completing deals with Swansea City and Celtic.
The first through the Dean Court door was Jamal Lowe from south Wales, the second was Ryan Christie from Scotland.
The 26-year-old was set to be out of contract with Celtic in January having previously won the “double treble” with Scotland which persists of winning the Scottish Premiership, Scottish FA Cup and Scottish League Cup in back-to-back seasons in 2018/19 and 2019/20. Adding to the one Scottish Cup he had previously lifted in 2014/15 with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
He has also won 20 international caps for Scotland, scoring 4 goals and representing his country in the recent UEFA European Championships.
The 26-year-old has signed a three-year deal at Dean Court after Celtic and AFC Bournemouth agreed an undisclosed fee, widely reported as £1.5million (Daily Record).
Ryan Christie
Good signing
OK signing
Poor signing
Wait and see
🍀 Ryan Christie has signed for @afcbournemouth on a permanent deal.
We would like to thank our #QuadrupleTreble winner for his contribution at #CelticFC and wish him every success in the future! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hKa3IJwkQR
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 31, 2021
Scottish newspaper the Daily Record linked him with a potential move to Arsenal as recently as April, just five months ago, but didn’t make an approach over the summer.
Christie became the seventh signing that has been underseen by Scott Parker following the additions Jamal Lowe (£1.5million from Swansea), Emiliano Marcondes (free transfer from Brentford), Leif Davis (on loan from Leeds United), Orjan Nyland (free transfer from Norwich City), Gary Cahil (free transfer from Crystal Palace) and Morgan Rogers (on loan from Manchester City).
AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake told afcb.co.uk…
“We are delighted to have secured the services of Ryan.
“He was being courted by a number of Premier League clubs, so it is a huge coup to have signed him.
“We think it speaks volumes about him as a player and us as a club that he chose to come here and work under Scott Parker and his staff.
“Ryan enjoyed a hugely successful stay at Celtic and was instrumental in them winning a host of trophies.
“His outstanding form at club level saw him gain international recognition with Scotland. He has already achieved a great deal in his career and is determined to achieve more.”
Great to have you with us, Ryan! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/IbEKsOicEL
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) August 31, 2021
Also speaking to afcb.co.uk, Christie said…
“Throughout my whole career I’ve always wanted to try my hand down in England and I’m really excited to join a team who’s going for promotion, going out to win games and achieve success. I’m used to that at Celtic so hopefully I can help bring that to Bournemouth,” he began.
“The attraction was a bit of everything. It sounds a bit crazy but I’ve actually had an affection for Bournemouth for years now. Believe it not Bournemouth put a bid in for me back in my Inverness days as a really young player. You could say I’ve looked out for the club for a good few years now.
“As soon as I heard the club were an option, I managed to speak to Scott Parker and with the way he spoke, he’s a big encouragement in terms of the brand of football and the way his teams play.
“From watching what he did with Fulham and then seeing him come to Bournemouth I think I’m taking a big step in the right direction.
“The whole feeling of it was right and even though I did have a couple of other options this was the one that I was just desperate to get over the line.
Your say…
northstandmark wrote…
He’s here to compete with 6 or 7 attacking midfielders for 3 maybe 4 spots in the team. No idea where he’ll fit in that pecking order as yet.
Have to take anything from Scottish football with a pinch of salt but his statistics are reasonable.
It wasn’t that long ago the daily record were raving about him and linking him to Arsenal. Now clearly that was exaggerated, but it contrasts interestingly what Celtic fans are saying now!
It’s clear we needed something in that department though, he seems a slightly different type of player to Marcondes or Brooks. Let’s have a look at him. – Join the conversation, click here.
