Ryan Christie has admitted his long-held affection for Bournemouth after singing for the Cherries on transfer deadline day.
The Scotland international left Celtic in the cut price deal ahead of his contract expiring in January and is understood to have banked the Hoops around £1.5million.
Christie looked to have rediscovered his mojo at Celtic Park in recent weeks under Ange Postecoglou, who would have loved to have kept the attacking midfielder.
But he insists the time was right to move on and is delighted to have become part of Scott Parker’s squad, despite interest from Premier League Burnley.
And the 26-year old has revealed his fondness for the south coast club that stems from when they tried to sign Christie as a teenager from Inverness CT.
He told the club’s website: “Throughout my whole career I’ve always wanted to try my hand down in England and I’m really excited to join a team who’s going for promotion, going out to win games and achieve success.
"I’m used to that at Celtic so hopefully I can help bring that to Bournemouth.
“The attraction was a bit of everything. It sounds a bit crazy but I’ve actually had an affection for Bournemouth for years now.
"Believe it not Bournemouth put a bid in for me back in my Inverness days as a really young player. You could say I’ve looked out for the club for a good few years now.
“As soon as I heard the club were an option, I managed to speak to Scott Parker and with the way he spoke, he’s a big encouragement in terms of the brand of football and the way his teams play.
“From watching what he did with Fulham and then seeing him come to Bournemouth I think I’m taking a big step in the right direction.
“The whole feeling of it was right and even though I did have a couple of other options this was the one that I was just desperate to get over the line."
Christie admits it was a tough call to depart Celtic but ultimately couldn’t turn down the chance of a fresh start.
He added: “It was a massive decision, especially with the new manager coming in at Celtic and the club starting really well.
“Everything was very positive after a frustrating season last year, so it was about sitting down and weighing up my options, but I came to the decision that I was desperate to try this challenge and it’s the perfect time for me to try it.
“I’ve had six great and successful years at Celtic and hopefully that can help me even more in coming down and doing really well for Bournemouth."
