Ryan Christie is in no rush to sign up to a new Celtic deal

Ryan Christie has hinted he plans to stall on accepting Celtic’s offer of a new deal.

The midfielder, currently self-isolating because of his close contact with Stuart Armstrong, who returned a positive Covid test last week, is tied to the club until the summer of 2022.

Manager Neil Lennon wants him to extend his stay beyond then on improved terms and said that the end of the transfer window could be an ideal time to get a deal done.

Christie, however, sees no reason to rush.

“I’ve still got plenty of time on my current contract,” said the 25-year-old.

“Before this one I was down to five months to go at Celtic before we signed a new deal.

“So there’s plenty of time for that to resolve itself. I’m just enjoying football again after the long break.

“I take it as a compliment if the club wants to offer me a new contract. For a club to offer you a contract you must be doing something right.

“I’ve said that to the gaffer. I have spoken to him a few times up to this point.

“With everything going on, I didn’t think it was the right time to go into it.

“We hadn’t played football in so long and weren’t back playing.”