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John Arne Riise hails Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer

Kristoffer Ajer of Celtic battles for the ball with Joe Worrall of Rangers during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premier League between Celtic and at Ibrox...
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The towering Celtic defender is quicker than he’s given credit for.

Christopher Jullien (L) and Kristoffer Ajer of Celtic celebrate with the trophy following the Betfred Cup Final between Rangers FC and Celtic FC at Hampden Park on December 08, 2019 in...

John Arne Riise has said that Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer is way faster than most people think.

The 21-year-old defender has been a revelation for the Hoops in recent years after originally joining in January of 2016.

It was former Celtic boss Ronny Deila who brought the towering centre-back to Parkhead and his successors – Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon – have certainly gotten good use out of him, with the big man playing a major role in the treble Treble.

Ajer stands at 6’5, and the Liverpool legend believes that his fellow Norwegian is a lot quicker across the turf than he’s given credit for.

He said via Herald Scotland: “He’s quite big and people think he’s slow because of that but he’s quicker than you think and he’s a proper defender – a bit like Jamie Carragher who I played with at Liverpool.”

Ajer isn’t bullet fast, but he is very quick as Riise said and that’ll endear him to Premier League teams going forward.

Celtic would be loath to lose him in January, given how big of a season it’s shaping up to be, but long term it seems unlikely that the Bhoys will be able to keep him for long.

His speed and technical ability will definitely make more English sides sit up and take note, but the longer Celtic can keep him, the better.

Luis Felipe of Lazio Roma is challenged by Kristoffer Ajer of Celtic FC during the UEFA Europa League group E match between Lazio Roma and Celtic FC at Stadio Olimpico on November 07, 2019...