Barry Ferguson believes Ryan Christie will leave Parkhead and admitted his departure would be a huge blow to Celtic.
The Scotland man produced a scintillating display in the 6-0 rout over Dundee but his Hoops future is up in the air with just six months of his contract left.
New Bhoys boss Ange Postecoglou insists he won’t be pleading with him to stay as Crystal Palace and Burnley are both linked with the player.
And former Rangers captain and Record Sport columnist Ferguson quipped: “If I was his agent I’d be trying to get him down south!”
But Ferguson reckons Celtic are fighting a losing battle and said: “It looks to me, and to the Celtic fans I’ve spoken to, that he’ll be on the move. That will be a big loss to Celtic.
“He was on a different level against Dundee. That ball he slipped through for (Kyogo) Furuhashi’s hat-trick goal was eye of the needle stuff.
“In that sort of form Ryan Christie is a top player. He had an off season last term like a lot of players at Celtic but on his game he’s a top player and he’s shown that.”
Ferguson was impressed with Celtic’s display which came just 24 hours after his old side slumped to defeat against Dundee United at Tannadice.
But Ferguson is convinced Rangers will get their season back on track as they look to overturn a 2-1 first leg Champions League deficit against Malmo.
He told the GO Radio football show: “I wouldn’t look too much into the last couple of defeats. It’s a worry if it goes on for a number of weeks but I really believe it won’t.
“I’ve got no worries about it having a knock-on effect. Rangers weren't at it. They travelled down from Tannadice, in training on Sunday and they will reset and come out flying.
“They’ve been used to winning games every single week so two defeats in four days, they haven’t been used that and will need to come back strong.
“There’s no better game - a Champions League qualifier at Ibrox with 52,000 fans behind them. They need to now go and prove a point because it’s been disappointing.
“It wasn’t the Rangers we’ve come to expect against Dundee United. They were sloppy in periods of the game and the manager was honest and said it wasn’t good enough.
“Now they can go and put it right and I fully expect them to come flying out the traps and go for Malmo.”
