RYAN CHRISTIE savoured the realisation of a lifelong dream after completing a move from Inverness Caley to boyhood heroes Celtic on deadline day. The 20 year-old, who grew up a Hoops fan in the Highlands, has signed a four-year deal with the Parkhead club and will be immediately loaned back to John Hughes’ side.

Christie follows in the footsteps of his dad Charlie who spent two seasons at Celtic Park in the late 1980s without ever making a first-team appearance. Ryan is hoping he can make more of a lasting impact when he finally joins up with Ronny Deila’s squad either in January or next summer.

He said: “I have said to my dad and my friends that Celtic was my dream club and dream move since I was a young boy. Since I pulled the Celtic jersey on after signing, I haven’t stopped smiling. It has been a pretty mad 24 to 48 hours. Now that’s it’s finalised, I feel a bit more relaxed. It always takes a while for a transfer to go through in football these days, so I wasn’t really nervous about it.

“I was just really hoping to get the chance to speak to Celtic. When I did, I was just pushing for the deal as much as I could. I know it is going to be hard to get into the team here. But I’ve got to challenge myself as part of my career. I’m not going to go anywhere just to sit on the sidelines. So I need to step up to the plate now and prove that I’m ready to play for Celtic.

“I’ve been a fan all my life, just through my dad. As a kid I had Celtic posters on my wall, Henrik Larsson was my favourite of course. I’ve came down for games, mainly cup finals and the European nights. The last one was the Barcelona game in 2012. That was an incredible night.”

Christie was just a boy when his dad was voted man of the match when Inverness went ballistic in 2000 to knock John Barnes’ Celtic out of the Scottish Cup. He jokes that he has heard about that night regularly ever since but now wants to make memories of his own.

He added: “I was only five when my dad’s Inverness team beat Celtic. I was at the game but I don’t remember much about it to be honest. My dad’s mentioned it, just the few thousand times! I’ve seen the videos of course so I know all about it.

“My dad said he enjoyed his time at Celtic although he found it hard to break in. He told me that I might find it the same when I move down, but it’s about being mentally strong and keeping going. When I get my chance, I have to take it.”

Christie will now return to Inverness on loan, although Celtic will have the option to bring him back in January. The attacking midfielder wants to use that experience to impress Deila who he hopes will be closely following his progress.

He said: “Going back to Inverness gives me time to hit the goals I set for myself at the start of the season with them and also to settle things for moving to Glasgow when I do come back. I still want to do well for Inverness to show the manager here what I can do. Hopefully I will go back there and hit a bit of form and score some goals. That would plant me in his mind so when I come down here he knows that I’m ready to go.”