CYRUS CHRISTIE HASN’T played a competitive game at international since November 2020, but he is likely to become integral to Ireland’s 11-day sprint through the majority of their Uefa Nations League campaign.
Ireland play four of their six games in the next fortnight, beginning with Saturday’s trip to Yerevan to face Armenia. Ireland’s resources at right wing-back are depleted with Matt Doherty injured, while the prospect of Seamus Coleman being asked to do that role’s hard running in all four games looks remote. Hence Christie appears to be next man up: new call-up Festy Ebosle isn’t a stranger to the job but Stephen Kenny says he sees him as an attacker.
“Wherever the manager wants to play me, I’m sure I’m capable of doing a job”, he says. “I’ve had a good six months at Swansea and I’ve been putting up good numbers; probably the best in my career. Like I said, it’s just great to be back in amongst the lads. I’m looking forward to putting on the jersey if the manager picks me.”
Christie’s season was cleaved in two halves: the second, spent on loan with Swansea, was terrific, playing every one of their final 23 games of the season, primarily at right wing-back. It was the perfect loan move after a lousy few months at Fulham, where he was frozen out by Marco Silva and not allowed to train with the first-team.
“It was tough, the first six months. At times I wasn’t allowed at the training ground when anyone was in there. I’d go to train on my own a lot of the time. I was playing out of position, in midfield as a central defensive midfielder under him. It was very different. He had a lot of players to choose from. The manager made a decision. That’s football. I didn’t cry about it. I just got on with it. I came in every day with a smile on my face, and waited for my opportunity. I got that at Swansea. I think I took it with both hands. I went there and showed people what I’m capable of. Over 23 games, I’d three goals, five or six assists. It was a good season. I didn’t want it to end. The first half of the season was a big contrast to the second half. My time there is done. I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”
Christie’s time is done at Fulham as he is officially a free agent on 1 July. A permanent deal at Swansea is tempting but thus far it’s not an option. “ I don’t think they’ve much of a budget this year, they said. Until they put an offer in front that I can consider…I enjoyed the way the manager plays. They took me in from day one, especially the fans. It’s somewhere I’d consider going to if they want me back. ”
He says he isn’t stressing about his next move, and that there have been offers both in Britain and further afield, but all focus is currently on the Nations League quadruple-header. Christie is not the only member of the Irish squad to find form at Swansea ahead of this international window: Michael Obafemi is back for the first time in almost four years and is arguably the squad’s form player, with 11 goals in his final 19 games of the Championship season.
“He has been unreal this season since I joined. I don’t know what he was like for the first six months, but he picked up, he was scoring goals, he was a threat. On top of that, he is a lovely lad as well, he’s a funny character and he gets goals. He is so quick and he is a threat. I’m sure when he steps on that pitch everyone will see what he is capable of.”
Christie played twice for Ireland last year – in the two friendly games with Qatar – but hasn’t been involved in a competitive game since a goalless draw against Bulgaria at an empty Aviva Stadium in November 2020, the final game of an appalling Nations League campaign. Ireland’s embrace of the new competition has been cold: they have yet to win a game in the competition since its inception in 2018.
That campaign began with a terrible 4-1 loss away to Wales under Martin O’Neill, in which Christie played. (Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy, Conor Hourihane, Jeff Hendrick, and Callum Robinson are the only other players who played that night involved in the current team.)
He was also involved in the subsequent games at home to Denmark and Wales, this time in an unfamiliar role in central midfield.
“That was centre mid, wasn’t it? That was obviously a long time ago now. I was having to do a variety of roles and I had to cover a lot of ground and do a lot different things but we are in a different place now and we have a lot of great players here. We’ve got a strong squad. Even in training there was so many boys to choose from and a few had to sit it out and interchange so we got a lot of depth and I’m sure that when everyone is called upon we can put in some good performances over the next few weeks.”
Christie will be heavily involved over the next four games, though unlikely to reappear in central midfield.
