Former Aberdeen favourite Duncan Shearer believes Ryan Christie could look at moving to England if he does not have a future at Celtic or the Dons.
Christie has starred for the Dons on loan from the league champions and, while Shearer would not like to see the him leave Pittodrie, he has no doubts the 22-year-old could succeed south of the border.
Shearer worked with Christie during his time as under-20s coach at Caley Thistle and also spent the best part of a decade in England, playing for Chelsea, Huddersfield Town, Swindon Town and Blackburn Rovers. He returned to Scotland in 1992 to sign for Aberdeen, netting 55 goals in 152 league appearances.
On several occasions this season, midfielder Christie has said he is not looking ahead to the summer when his loan deal ends and instead wants to focus on the time he has left with the Dons.
Shearer, however, feels Christie is destined for big things.
He said: “I don’t want to see anyone leave Aberdeen but if he was asking my advice then, if Celtic are going to loan him out again, I’d be looking down in England.
“I played there for 10 years and it’s a wonderful place to play your football. It’s probably the next step in his progression.
“But if he’s happy at Aberdeen, then great.
“It’s a club with fantastic people and I’m sure he’ll be in no hurry. He’ll be trying to impress Brendan Rodgers and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s keeping an eye on the situation.
“He’s matured into a fantastic footballer.
“He always had a brain but now he’s grown in stature.
“If Scotland are looking for people who can play football and not just put a tackle in – somewhere along the line you need someone with a brain and that boy is only going to get better.”
Christie made his debut for Scotland last November against the Netherlands thanks to his form with the Dons and could be in the frame for the friendlies against Hungary and Costa Rica next month.