Celtic’s Scottish Premiership champion Kristoffer Ajer has a long way to go if he is to live up to former Fulham and Premier League defender Brede Hangeland.
Brede Hangeland is one of the most distinguished footballers in Norway’s recent history.
A powerful and commanding centre-back who won 91 caps for his country, Hangeland was also one of the Premier League’s most solid and underrated defenders during an excellent six-year spell at Fulham.
So Egil Olsen, manager of Norway’s national team from 2009 to 2013, is well placed to compare the now retired 37-year-old to the young pretender Kristoffer Ajer.
At just 20, Ajer is at the other end of his professional career but his reputation is rising quickly. The 6ft 5ins centre-half made his breakthrough in Celtic’s first team at the start of last season and has won four caps for Norway since making his debut this year.
And Olsen certainly believes that Ajer could follow in Hangeland’s footsteps – potentially with a move to the Premier League.
“He’s not very different (to Hangeland). I actually think he’s faster and could be better,” Olsen told ABC Nyheter.
“It is possible that he (moves to the Premier League).”
TEAMtalk reported earlier in 2018 that Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton had taken a liking to the former Kilmarnock loanee on the back of his impressive performances en route to Celtic’s second successive domestic treble.
But Ajer only signed a four-year contract in May, meaning Celtic fans can sleep easy for now.
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