Celtic

Celtic: Stephen Craigan discusses the ‘incredible return’ that the Hoops could make on Kristoffer Ajer

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Image for Celtic: Stephen Craigan discusses the ‘incredible return’ that the Hoops could make on Kristoffer Ajer

Ex-Motherwell defender Stephen Craigan, who made 45 appearances for Northern Ireland in his career, appeared on a recent edition of the BBC’s Sportsound Scottish Football podcast where he shared his thoughts on the reports linking Celtic centre-back Kristoffer Ajer with a move to AC Milan. 

Ajer has been linked with a move to Milan in recent weeks, with Gianluca Di Marzio reporting that soon-to-be new Milan manager Ralf Rangnick likes the Celtic centre-back. Di Marzio also claimed that the Rossoneri will face competition from ‘several Premier League teams’ for the Norway international’s signature. 

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In addition to these reports, Football Insider recently shared some news concerning this potential transfer, as they reported that the Hoops have set an asking price of £20m on Ajer, who moved to Parkhead from IK Start for a reported transfer fee of up to £650k in 2016, as per The Herald

Craigan shared his thoughts on the reports linking Ajer with a move away from the reigning Scottish champions during his recent appearance on the BBC’s Sportsound Scottish Football podcast

The ex-defender said: “Celtic bought him for £650k, roughly. I think you’d get £10m, £11m, £12m, because it looks as if AC Milan have appointed Ralf Rangnick, the German, as manager for next season. They are going to spend money, they are going to invest, so they will have money to burn. 

“If Celtic could get £10m, £11m, £12m – that’s an incredible return on what Celtic do – bring players in, make them better, young and old, sell them on for a profit. That would be another one off the production line from that scene.

“Neil Lennon would probably like to keep him for ‘10 in a row’ because [Ajer’s] got a very good relationship with Christopher Jullien, he plays all the time, he can play in a back four, he can play in a back three, so if it isn’t this season, I think eventually, Kristoffer Ajer may move on.”

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TIF Thoughts…

While some reports have claimed that Celtic value Ajer at £20m, Craigan seems to believe that the Hoops could get £10m-£12m for the defender. 

This is considerably less than their alleged valuation of the player. However, as Craigan states, that is still a very good return on the reported transfer fee of ‘up to £650k’ that the Hoops spent on the player back in 2016. 

Furthermore, Ajer is currently valued at £2.43m by Transfermarkt, which makes a transfer fee of £10m-£12m look like quite a good deal for the defender.

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