Celtic have made an offer to sign Ryan Christie, Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s exciting young midfielder. Ronny Deila, manager of the Parkhead club, would not confirm his interest in the player yesterday, but The Times understands that a bid of around £500,000 has been lodged.
On a day when it also emerged that Tyler Blackett, the 21-year-old Manchester United defender, could be joining the club on a season-long loan, Celtic showed once again that they are keen to snap up the brightest emerging talents in Scottish football.
If a deal for Christie is agreed before the transfer window closes next week, it will end months of speculation. The 20-year-old, whose contract expires at the end of this season, with an option to extend it by a year, could be loaned back to Inverness until next summer.
Christie, whose father Charlie played for Celtic, won the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Young Player of the Year last season, when he helped Inverness to win the William Hill Scottish Cup and finish third in the Scottish Premiership. He has been linked with a number of clubs after a string of eye-catching performances lately.
Asked yesterday if he had bid for Christie, Deila would only say: “There are different prospects we are looking at now. There will be a lot of rumours in the next few days, a lot of things going on. On September 1, then we can sit down and see where we are.”
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It promises to be a fraught few days for the Celtic manager as he prepares for another season without Champions League football. After their defeat by Malmö on Tuesday night, they were drawn yesterday to play against Ajax, Fenerbahçe and Molde in the group stage of the Europa League.
Deila is expected to be without his biggest asset, Virgil van Dijk, for that campaign. While the manager admits that the Dutchman’s head has been turned by interest from elsewhere, he insists that a transfer, reportedly to Southampton, is no closer to being agreed.
Deila said that Van Dijk would be in his usual place for the league match against St Johnstone in Glasgow today. “Nothing has changed,” he said. “It’s the same situation. It will be good for him and for us that this finishes on September 1 so we can move on. He has a contract here and we want to keep him. We don’t need to sell him.
“I know there is interest from different clubs so that’s positive. He knows he has a fantastic club but he is also seeing if these other options could take his career to another level.”
If Van Dijk leaves, Blackett would give Celtic a new option at the back. The left-sided defender signed a lucrative new contract with Manchester United in February, but Valencia, Real Sociedad and West Bromwich Albion have all been interested in securing him on loan. After coming through the ranks at Old Trafford, Blackett made his breakthrough last season, when he made 11 appearances under Louis van Gaal. The England under-21 international’s next step is to gain regular first-team football.