Celtic hero Johann Mjallby comments on Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien

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Ajer and £7m Jullien are starting to establish themselves as Neil Lennon’s first choice defensive partnership at Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.

Celtic hero Johan Mjallby is confident that Kristoffer Ajer can become a ‘great’ player at Parkhead with the young centre-back going from strength to strength at the Scottish Premiership champions, speaking to the Scottish Sun.

Ajer is one of the few players in Celtic’s squad who lived through the reigns of Ronny Deila and Brendan Rodgers, having joined the Hoops from Norwegian outfit IK Start in February 2016.

And, after a fine loan spell at Kilmarnock, the 21-year-old has established himself as one of the first names on the team-sheet with his mix of height, physical strength and technical ability marking him out as a potentially elite defensive talent.

Mjallby, a fellow Scandinavian who won three league titles with Celtic in the early 2000s, is well placed to pass judgement on Ajer and he thinks the sky is the limit for a defender who has formed a promising partnership with Christopher Jullien in the early weeks of the new campaign.

“Ajer is going to become a great centre-half, but I was also really impressed at how good he was at right-back. It surprised me, but he’s shown he can play in different positions.”

Mjallby was also keen to pay tribute to Jullien, a giant centre-back who arrived with a £7 million price-tag on his head from Toulouse (Sun). The Frenchman looked worth every penny during a towering display in last week’s Europa League draw with Rennes.

“Jullien came with a big price tag and big things were expected. Jullien is a very good defender,” Mjallby said. “He’s got the height and physicality and likes to go in for a tackle as well. He’s got all the ingredients to be a successful defender for Celtic.”

With Ajer and Jullien developing an understanding and striking fear into the heart of opposition strikers, it seems a long time now since the Celtic fans were worrying about a lack of quality and leadership at centre-half.