Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer impressed on international duty last night.
Australia boss Bert van Marwijk has singled out Celtic and Norway talent Kristoffer Ajer for praise after his impressive debut on international duty last night.
The 19-year-old defender enjoyed a fine performance on what was his first game for Norway as Lars Lagerback’s side ran out 4-1 winners over the Aussies.
Such a display can come as no surprise to those who have watched Ajer at Celtic in recent months, with the young centre-back establishing himself as a key player in Brendan Rodgers’s first XI.
And Van Marwijk, who led the Netherlands to a second-placed finish in the 2010 World Cup, has revealed to The Record that he had to instruct his Australia players to stop him.
He said to The Record: “Norway’s Ajer was a big danger for us. Every time he carried the ball forward into midfield caused us trouble.
“I had to tell my players at half time to take care of him and they stopped him doing that so much in the second half.”
At just 19, Ajer has a very bright future in the game and signing him has ensured that Ronny Deila’s two-year stint at Parkhead wasn’t a complete failure, despite failing to qualify for the Champions League in both seasons.
Deila signed the youngster a number of months before he quit Celtic, though never got to work with him, but Rodgers is certainly ensuring that the Scottish Premiership giants are now getting the best out of him.
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