Aberdeen have completed the loan signing of Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie and manager Derek McInnes hopes to add to his squad before the end of the month.
The former Caley Thistle midfielder, the son of former Inverness player manager Charlie Christie, who began his career at the Parkhead club, could make his Dons debut in Friday’s Premiership match against Dundee.
Christie has made seven appearances for Celtic this season, scoring once, and McInnes, pictured below, is delighted to have got his man. He said: “We want to make a couple of additions in the January window – quality additions – and there is no doubt Ryan has the quality to come in and make an impact with us. Ryan can help us with the challenges that lie ahead during the second half of the season.
“I would also like to thank Brendan Rodgers and Celtic for assisting in getting the deal done.”
Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers rates the 21-year-old highly and believes he has a future at Parkhead, but has sanctioned a loan move until the end of the season.
The Dons have also been linked with St Johnstone left back Brian Easton.
The 28-year-old’s deal at McDiarmid Park expires in the summer and the former Burnley defender would be available on a free transfer.
The Christie signing does not end hope of bringing Norwich City midfielder James Maddison back to the club for a second loan spell.
The 20-year-old scored two goals in 17 appearances for the Dons before returning to Carrow Road earlier this month. He cannot move to another club on loan and when asked about the prospect of Maddison returning to Pittodrie, Norwich City manager Alex Neil said: “What I am not going to do is leave us short in certain areas. It depends on ins and outs.
“That final decision will come as the window progresses. The one thing I want to do is make sure James plays football – whether it is here or not.”
Aberdeen’s pursuit of Scotland international Stevie May could suffer a setback if Preston offload two forwards in the coming days.
Irish attacker Eoin Doyle has been linked with a loan move to either Bolton Wanderers or Portsmouth, while Wolves are closing in on a £2million deal for Preston’s promising 21-year-old Callum Robinson.
The Deepdale club remain keen to sign Robbie Keane, a free agent after leaving LA Galaxy, but a failure to land another forward could scupper May’s loan move back to the Scottish Premiership.
Kevin Clancy will take charge of Friday’s meeting between Aberdeen and Dundee. The referee has shown 48 yellow cards in 11 Scottish Premiership matches this season – an average of more than four per game.