Kristoffer Ajer has really won the Celtic fans over this season with a string of fine performances at the back.
Having been signed during the latter stages of Ronny Deila’s tenure at Parkhead and having gone into this season having made just one appearance for Celtic during his first campaign with the club, many fans would have been forgiven for fearing that Kristoffer Ajer’s time with the Hoops was never going to ignite.
For much of this season, it appeared that Brendan Rodgers would prefer to only turn to the teenager when he wanted to give some of his favoured options a rest – but during this latest run in the side, the 19-year-old has shown the kind of form that is leaving Bhoys fans very optimistic about his future.
Ajer – signed for £500,000, according to The Scottish Sun – has taken advantage of the poor form shown by the likes of Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic at times during the campaign and surely now has to be considered one of Rodgers’ main options for a place at the heart of the defence.
It was arguably during last week’s Europa League last 32 first-leg against Zenit St Petersburg when Ajer put in a real coming of age performance – one of the defining images from that game will undoubtedly be the moment that the Norwegian celebrated making a successful sliding challenge during the first-half.
He surely has some way to go before he proves to Rodgers that he can be as reliable as Kieran Tierney, but he is undoubtedly on the right path – and that begs the question, is he set to be the next Celtic star to attract Premier League attention?
The likes of Moussa Dembele (via The Scottish Sun), Kieran Tierney (via Daily Mirror) and Stuart Armstrong (via Sunday Post) were linked with moves to England’s top flight during the January transfer window, while the Hoops have had to watch the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama realise their potential in the division after spells with Celtic.
Ajer is not the finished article yet, but he is still a teenager who shone on an evening that will go down as one of the top European nights at Parkhead in recent years, and he is capable of playing in defence or midfield.
He may have had a slow start to life at Celtic, but the youngster has undoubtedly turned a corner in recent months. And for that reason, it would be no surprise if amongst the calls that come in asking about the availability of some of his teammates, there are some teams who ask the Hoops to name their price for Ajer.
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