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The Man Utd hero has joined a Liverpool legend in praising the former Celtic star.
Roy Keane has gone gaga over a former Celtic player now turning heads in the Premier League.
At the start of the Ange Postecoglou era, Ryan Christie swapped Hoops for Bournemouth, who were then in the English Championship. It appeared a puzzling move at the time to swap European football and trophies galore for the second tier in England but it has paid dividends since then.
He has now established himself as a key player for the Cherries who are enjoying a fantastic season under Spanish boss Andoni Iraola. Christie, traditionally an attack-minded playmaker, has been turned into an out and out midfielder as Bournemouth chase European football.
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Keane’s Christie praise
Recruitment has played a key role in the form surge at Bournemouth but Man Utd legend and former Celtic player Roy Keane has so much praise for the likes of Christie who have improved their game to mix it near the top end of the Premier League table.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane said: “We praise their recruitment (at Bournemouth), but also the improvement of the players like Ryan Christie. He has been outstanding in the last few months. So, the manager deserves credit for that because he (Christie) was already at the club and he is improving him and that’s what a really good manager does.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher was also recently full of praise for Christie. He said to the same broadcaster in January: "The reason I was so impressed, not just with RC, with Bournemouth was because you come up against a Newcastle team, a midfield who I think in the last couple of months have looked the best midfield in the Premier League, with Tonali going into that sitting role, Guimaraes, Joelinton.
"We know Bournemouth like to press 4-4-2, so it was really interesting to see how they go about it. It was fantastic, he was right at the heart of it. We know they like to press and Ryan Christie’s got great energy. But it’s really interesting how they matched Newcastle up to make it a three-v-three. You’ve got Christie, Adams just behind.
"He goes to press, as soon as he goes, Adams jumps and the centre back jumps in to make it 3-v-3. They kept trying to push Newcastle to the left side constantly."
Surgery need
Christie’s form is made all the more impressive by the fact he is playing through groin surgery which may be in need of an operation at the end of the season. Iraola told the BBC: "Ryan's (injury) is something chronic. He's dealing with some pain and I think it's a situation that we will have to manage day by day. I'm not ruling him out, I trust Ryan a lot. He knows his body. Sometimes he's feeling OK and he trains and says, 'I'll give it a go', sometimes he's in some pain.
"So, it's not an easy situation to deal with during the season. Probably he needs some rest, but obviously he wants to continue playing. We will continue to deal with it. We are probably thinking about surgery or something like this and it's better for everyone if it's in the summer.
"But I'm not Ryan Christie and he has to see how he feels. If he can play or can't play, decisions with the doctor, but he's pretty good at managing it."
Related topics:Roy KeaneBournemouthPremier LeagueJamie CarragherPremiership
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