Football writer Alison McConnell has been discussing how Celtic may look to replace Kristoffer Ajer should he move on this summer.
The 22-year-old defender has been heavily linked with a move to Serie A giants AC Milan this summer and during a recent episode of the PLZ Soccer’s ‘The Football Show, McConnell was asked if the Hoops were planning on replacing him and would they be looking at somebody foreign-based or Scotland-based. Here is how she responded:
“I think they’ll have a shortlist. You just do your due diligence. The anticipation will be that there might be interest in Ajer and you’ll have a safety net of targets and you’ll probably find that it’ll be a mixture of homegrown and foreign-based players. We all live in the real world, the bottom line is that everyone’s for sale. There’s no question about it. If anyone comes in and tables a fee that is agreeable to the club and the player is keen to take it, that is just how it works. Every club and player is susceptible to that.”
TIF Thoughts…
In the event that Ajer is sold this summer, McConnell believes the club will have their eyes on what Scotland has to offer and further afield. Last summer, the Celts splashed out on Christopher Jullien from Toulouse in a deal reportedly worth £7.2m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk).
Are you confident the club will reinvest any potential transfer fee for Ajer this summer?
Yes
No
Given he started 93% of the club’s Scottish Premiership fixtures last season and therefore played a key role in a championship-winning side, you could argue that going abroad has proven successful in the past. However, given the potential impact of the recent global pandemic, it is difficult to predict what the club will be able to spend this summer and therefore, we believe, that it is impossible to predict their business this summer.