Middlesbrough midfielder Paddy McNair has been told to join Celtic by his international teammate Ryan McLaughlin.

McLaughlin, who plays for Rochdale, made the comments on Jordan Jones' Instagram after he posted a picture sharing his delight following his move to Rangers.

/ByxolFJnnOt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Paddy McNair commented 'class mate' on the picture, to which Ryan McLaughlin replied 'join Celtic mate'.

The comments come shortly after Stuart Dallas claimed that McNair deserves to play more for Middlesbrough due to his ability.

Since moving to Middlesbrough from Sunderland last summer, McNair has struggled to make an impact at the Riverside Stadium, having started just seven league games since his arrival - so perhaps there will be some movement with him this summer.

There has been a lot of change at Boro in the summer, with former player Jonathan Woodgate replacing Tony Pulis as the man in charge and McNair will hope that the change can see him get more game time if he does stay.

The Verdict

While reading into Instagram comments can often by futile, it might be telling that there have been a couple of comments from Northern Ireland teammates that allude to him not getting what he wants or deserves at Middlesbrough.

Whether Celtic are even interested is unknown, but the signs are there to suggest that he wants more game time, and that might have to be at another club.

McNair has shown for Northern Ireland that he has the quality to make the difference in games, and it was surprising to see last year that Pulis was so resistant to playing him. Perhaps with Woodgate taking over and promising to give youth a chance we will see more of him.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.