Celtic star who’s “so underrated” can become Rodgers’ next Ryan Christie

Kyogo Furuhashi became the latest star to be sold by Celtic for a significant profit when he joined Ligue 1 side Rennes in the January transfer window.

The Hoops signed the Japan international from Vissel Kobe for a reported fee of £4.6m in the summer of 2021 under Ange Postecoglou, and enjoyed his goalscoring talents for almost four years.

Kyogo racked up 85 goals in 165 appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys, winning the Scottish Premiership title in all three of his full seasons at Parkhead.

Rennes swooped in to sign him for £10m in January and that represented a profit of £5.4m for the Scottish giants, which shows that the club played a blinder by bringing him to Glasgow back in 2021.

Celtic, however, do not always get it right when they cash in on their top talents. An example of a player who was possibly undersold by the Hoops was attacking midfielder Ryan Christie.

Ryan Christie’s record at Celtic

In the same summer that saw Kyogo move to Paradise for a fee of £4.6m, Bournemouth moved to sign Christie from the Hoops for a reported fee of £2.5m.

That came after the Scotland international had produced 42 goals and 44 assists in 151 matches in all competitions for Celtic during his time in the first-team at Parkhead, proving himself to be a reliable attacking midfielder who could score and assist goals on a regular basis.

The left-footed star, who scored five penalties for the Hoops, was utilised in a multitude of positions throughout his time with the club, mainly as an attacking midfielder but also as a winger, a central midfielder, and a deep-lying or defensive midfielder.

He made his breakthrough as a regular in the senior side at Celtic at the start of the 2018/19 campaign under Brendan Rodgers, but the Northern Irishman left to join Leicester City that season before he got the chance to see Christie flourish.

It was his form in the 2019/20 campaign that really caught the eye, though, as the Scottish maestro racked up a staggering 21 goals and 16 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions.

Christie proved himself to be a central or attacking midfielder who could be relied upon to deliver quality at the top end of the pitch on a regular basis, whether that be as a scorer or a creator of goals.

Ryan Christie’s incredible form in 2024/25

At the time of writing (20/03/2025), Transfermarkt values the Bournemouth central midfielder at a whopping £10m, which means that his value has soared up since the Hoops cashed in on him for just £2.5m.

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During his time with the Cherries in England, Christie has reinvented himself as a deep-lying playmaker, predominantly playing as a central or defensive midfielder – rather than being a number ten by trade.

The Bournemouth star has made 3.0 tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League this season, to go along with five ‘big chances’ created, and this shows that he has added a defensive edge to his game, winning possession back from the opposition on a regular basis.

As you can see in the chart above, Christie ranks highly among his positional peers in the division this season when it comes to progressing play and creating chances for his teammates from a deep-lying midfield role.

He has developed into a well-rounded midfielder who can make a difference for his team in and out of possession in matches, with his creative talents on the ball and his tackles and interceptions to break up play off it.

Rodgers kickstarted his development by unleashing him as a regular starter for Celtic in the 2018/19 campaign, and the Northern Irish boss can, now, unearth his next version of Christie in Arne Engels.

Celtic’s new Ryan Christie in 2025

Like the Scotland international, the Belgian maestro is a versatile star who can play in central or attacking midfield, on the right flank, or as a deep-lying midfielder – as he did in the defeat to Rangers last weekend in the Scottish Premiership.

Engels is also a player who can be relied upon from the penalty spot, as Christie was, as he has found the back of the net eight times from 12 yards in all competitions this season.

The 21-year-old star has been trusted to be the main penalty taker for the Scottish giants, despite the likes of Daizen Maeda, Kyogo – in the first half of the season – and Adam Idah being at the club, which speaks to how much faith Rodgers has in his ability.

Engels has also racked up 12 assists, to go along with his ten goals, in all competitions for the Hoops this term, which shows that the midfield star can provide quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a central midfield position – just as Christie did during his time at Parkhead.

Whilst it took Christie to move to Bournemouth to develop the defensive side of his game, the current Celtic star has already shown that he can provide quality in and out of possession.

As you can see in the table above, Engels provided plenty of defensive quality during the Champions League campaign for the Hoops, with his ability to make tackles and disrupt opposition attacks.

The 21-year-old star, who was described as “so underrated” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is a well-rounded central midfielder who can make things happen in the final third on a regular basis, whilst also offering strength and reliability off the ball.

The next step for Engels, however, is to increase his output in the final third to the levels that Christie hit in the 2019/20 campaign, so that he can be relied upon as the main man for goals and assists for his side.

His form for the Scottish giants this season suggests that he has all the attributes required, in and out of possession, to be the manager’s new version of the Scotland international, and it is now down to him to put it all together.

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