THERE may be great uncertainty in football at the moment amid the continuing coronavirus crisis, but Ryan Christie doesn’t waver for a second when he is asked which one of his Celtic team mates he feels deserves to pick up their Player of the Year award.

"I'll be going for Odsonne,” said Christie. “From the start of the season he has been phenomenal.”

The Scotland playmaker will, having scored 19 goals in all competitions for the Parkhead club this season despite spending two spells on the sidelines, be a strong contender for the honour himself and is certain to receive many votes.

Yet, the 25-year-old believes French striker Edouard, who has netted no fewer than 28 times in the 2019/20 campaign, has been by far and away the stand-out performer for the treble treble winners and deserves to be recognised for his efforts.

"I'm lucky to play behind him or close to him and he's such a good player,” he said. "People see his goals and performances during games and he's been unbelievable. But training with him every day, some of the stuff that he comes out with is ridiculous. He would be my pick for his consistency and the big moments he has produced.”

There was much speculation surrounding Edouard’s future before the shutdown was introduced last month. Will he move on in a multi-million pound transfer in the summer? Or will he stay and spearhead Celtic’s bid to land 10-In-A-Row next season?

Christie is sure about one thing whatever happens – the young centre forward is only going to improve even further in future.

"The scary thing about Odsonne is that he's still only 22,” he said. “There is so much potential to unlock yet. He will just keep getting better and better.

"I've noticed this season that there are elements of his game improving all the time. His hold-up play is getting better and that's a big help when we are away from home and need the ball to stick.

"Odsonne has talent and his nice footwork and goals gets a lot of attention. But he also has to do the dirty work and has been very consistent in that sense. He has been reliable all season and his performances in Europe were excellent too.”

It took Christie, a £500,000 signing from Inverness Caledonian Thistle back in 2015, several seasons and a few loan spells to adapt to the demands and pressures of playing for Celtic and come good.

He suspects the easygoing nature of his team mate, a £9 million acquisition from Paris Saint-Germain two years ago, has helped him to cope with leading the line for the Glasgow giants domestically and in Europe.

"Odsonne is very, very laid back,” he said. "He has good chat in the changing room, but he's as chilled off the pitch as he is on it. That's just his personality. He has this ability to turn things on whenever he wants.

"When he's through on goal, he never panics. He's always cool. That's just a mindset thing from Odsonne. Even in big moments in front of goal, he is so calm.

"Think back to his penalty late on in the Copenhagen game. It's the last 32 of the Europa League, there was so much pressure on him to score. But he was so cool. To dink a penalty like that shows how much belief he has in himself.”

Christie is also unequivocal about which Celtic player should pick up the Young Player of the Year gong.

"There are a few contenders, but Jeremie Frimpong does stand out,” he said. "Mikey Johnston will be there or thereabouts, but he's had a tough time with injury.

"Jezza has been a great addition to the squad and has made such a big impact. His turn of pace and ability to get down the wing and put crosses in is unbelievable.

“He is the perfect modern-day full-back and he was probably exactly what we needed. The team was doing well but Jezza gave us that extra lift when he made his debut. He was our best player for two or three games in a row and looked like he'd been playing there for years.

"Jezza is so enthusiastic. I love him to bits, he's so funny and genuine. His 'oh my days' stuff after the Betfred Cup final went viral, but that's genuinely what he's like.

"We see his personality every day and he has a massive future ahead of him in the game. Getting him from Man City was a brilliant piece of business as he will keep improving.”

Christie, however, is conflicted about the Goal of the Season category and can't decide whether Olivier Ntcham's strike against Lazio in Rome in November or Scott Brown's late effort against Hamilton at Parkhead in December should get it.

"Ollie's goal was a brilliant moment because of how important it was and the circumstances," he said. "It was injury-time, it was to win the game and he was so calm and collected. To finish with a chip like that at any time would have been special.

"But to do it under that pressure against Lazio to put us into the knockouts was amazing. We have scored a lot of goals and there are a few that stand out.

"But Broony's last-minute winner against Hamilton shouldn't be overlooked. We were all gutted when we lost the equaliser and for him to step up and score was huge.

"I felt he should have won it last season for his winner at Kilmarnock. So maybe he will get it this year because it was a big moment for us in the season.

"In that moment, Broony wasn't the match winner people expected but he always seems to come up with big goals."

Celtic fans can vote for their Player, Young Player and Goal of the Year by clicking on https://poty.celticfc.net/home and registering.