Scottish Premiership champions Celtic signed Kristoffer Ajer for free in 2016, snapping him up before Europa League opponents Copenhagen could.
Copenhagen coach Stale Solbakken will be hoping the past does not come back to haunt him on Thursday when his side host Kristoffer Ajer’s Celtic at the Parken Stadium, in quotes reported by The Scotsman.
The presence of a Norwegian defender with the world at his feet adds another intriguing subplot to an already enticing Europa League round-of-32 clash.
Ajer may not be the finished article just yet but the 21-year-old is going from strength to strength in green and white, enjoying arguably his best season for the Glasgow giants.
In all competitions, a player signed by compatriot Ronny Deila has made 43 appearances in 2019/20 while showcasing his eye-catching technique with a brilliantly-taken winner away at Aberdeen on Sunday.
These days, Ajer is valued at an eye-watering £20 million, four years after joining Celtic on a free from IFK Start.
No wonder Solbakken is ruing his failure to snap up a then-17-year-old Ajer back in 2016.
“Maybe I should have signed Ajer when he was 17 and playing in Norway. We were probably too slow then,” said the former Wolves boss, who has been in charge of Copenhagen since 2013.
“We knew about him very early when he was a striker and then a central midfielder at Start, their captain when he was very young. Maybe we should have pulled the trigger then. But that’s the only one I think we could have afforded in competition with Celtic.”
Ajer is almost guaranteed to start in the Danish capital alongside Christopher Jullien. Though a player who is rapidly growing into one of Britain’s top young centre-halves could also easily fill in at right-back – such is his versatility.
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