Rodgers tells Dons that loan-star Christie will be heading back to

CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has made it clear to Aberdeen counterpart Derek McInnes that on-loan midfielder Ryan Christie will be returning to Parkhead at the end of this season.

Earlier in the week, McInnes stated that he hoped to secure the 23-year-old midfielder on a permanent deal in the summer should the Premiership champions decide to offload him.

However, Rodgers is adamant that Christie will be expected back at Celtic Park to stake a claim for a more regular first-team opportunity next term.

‘I can’t blame Derek for wanting to have a player of Ryan’s quality,’ said the Northern Irishman.

‘It’s not a discussion, really. He will come back (to Celtic) in the summer.

‘The plan was always for Ryan to return here.

‘I looked at it last summer after he had spent six months on loan to Aberdeen, working with Derek at a fantastic club, under pressure.

‘I then asked myself: “Is it better for him to play 40-plus games somewhere else or maybe play between five and ten for me?”.

‘I still think he needed the development. And that plan hasn’t changed for me. We had a callback (option) in January if we’d wanted him back then.

‘But I always felt a year out playing, working on his game and his physical strength, preparing week in week out for games would benefit him and Celtic.

‘As a staff, we have watched him closely in a lot of the games and he has been a very influential player for Aberdeen.

‘The plan will be for him to come back and reintegrate into the squad here over the summer.

‘He has a year left on his contract, so we will look at it from there.’

For Scott Allan, though, it looks as though his time as a Celtic player will end at the conclusion of the current campaign.

The 26-year-old midfielder is currently out on loan at Hibernian, following a period at Dundee and has a contract at Parkhead that runs until the summer of next year.

But there are few signs that Rodgers views Allan as a longer-term member of his side.

‘I watched the Rangers v Hibs game (last month) and thought he did really, really well,’ added Rodgers.

‘Sometimes, players are suited to a club and Scott just looks right at Hibs when I see him play.’