RYAN CHRISTIE will report back to Celtic Park in the summer for last one last chance to prove himself to Brendan Rodgers.

Scott Allan, on the other hand, won’t be seen playing for the club again and has been advised to stay at Hibernian, a club he perhaps should not have left in the first place.

Whether Christie, or Allan for that matter should he have been given the opportunity at all, will make it at Celtic is up for debate, and most would argue that while these two are fine players, they are not right now going to move forward a team with ambitions to make more or a mark in Europe.

At least, these two Scots are playing regular football, with Aberdeen and Hibs respectively. Rather than them picking up the odd ten minutes here and there. This has happened to often to players at Celtic Park and it does nobody any good.

Christie is 23 so is no kid. He plays in a role where Rodgers already has plenty of choices. So, the Highlander is going to be up against it when he does join up with the team in June.

Being one of the best players for Aberdeen is one thing. Being a key component of Celtic winning a group stage in the Champions League is almost another sport.

“The plan was always for Ryan to come back,” confirmed Rodgers. “I looked at it last summer after he'd spent six months on loan to Aberdeen, working with Derek McInnes at a fantastic club, under pressure, and asked ‘is it better him to play 40-plus games for them or maybe play between five and 10 for me?’

“I still think he needed the development. And that plan hasn't changed for me.

“We had a call back in January if we’d wanted him but I always felt a year playing out, working on his game and his physical strength, on preparing week in week out for games would benefit him and benefit Celtic.

“I believe he has made the most of it. We as a staff have watched him closely in a lot of the games and he’s been a really influential player for Aberdeen.

“So, the plan will be for him to come back and reintegrate into the squad here over the summer and he has a year left on his contract, so we’ll look at it from there.”

Only last week, McInnes intimated that he would like to at least have a conversation which might see Christie sign on at Pittodrie on a permanent deal.

“I can't blame Derek for wanting to have a player of that quality, of course. It's not a discussion really,” said Rodgers who then added: “He'll come back in the summer.”

Allan has not been the perfect professional at times, which he has admitted himself, but it’s impossible not to feel some sympathy for the player who two-and-a-years ago was caught in what seemed them, and most certainly does now, as a game by Celtic and Rangers.

Rangers wanted the midfielder, their old pals flexed a financial muscle or two, and this mercurial talent left Easter Road for a club where he was never going to get much game-time. What a waste.

"I watched the Rangers-Hibs game and Scott did really well,” said Rodgers. “Sometimes players are just suited to a club and Scott just looks right at Hibs when I see him play.

“He's great boy, I've never had an issue with him. He was at a stage in his life where he just wanted to play.

“When I came in here, I had a real good summer working with him, but he's had a few ups and downs and it was really a case of going to play somewhere and that's still the case really, where he can go and get somewhere regular. He's a great boy with a lot of qualities. It's a different scenario to Ryan's.”