Celtic podcaster Chris Sermanni has delivered a verdict about the situation of Kristoffer Ajer at Parkhead.
Sermanni was recently present as a guest on the latest episode of The Cynic podcast and he chose to focus on the situation of Ajer and if the Hoops should sell him this summer.
Ajer has been linked with a move to Milan in recent weeks. The latest reports have suggested that the Rossoneri initially had a bid rejected for the Norwegian, but they are looking to make a new offer for the defender. Tuttosport (via Daily Record) has stated that the Hoops want a fee of £27m to part ways with Ajer.
Sermanni offered his opinion on whether Celtic should let Ajer leave or not.
He said: “£22m or £27m, if we hold out for that, is excellent money, but again, who do we get in? Do we have somebody else signed up? Do we have somebody lined up? Are we going to roll the dice? Are we going to bring through some of the young guys I was talking about?
Can Celtic afford to lose Ajer this summer?
Absolutely not!
Yes, we should sell him
“Jack Hendry’s away, so he’s not part of it. So you’re getting really, really light defensively. I would only sanction that, going for the ten, if we’ve got a replacement of his quality going forward and that’s the problem – we might not.
“I would be really worried if Ajer went and we didn’t have somebody of similar quality to bring in. That’s the one worry I’ve got. We’ve not heard anybody really linked at centre-half just now. So you can have all the money you want in the bank, it’s about the quality that comes in after.”
TIF Thoughts…
The fact that Milan’s initial reported bid of £13.5 million was rejected shows that Celtic won’t let Ajer leave for cheap. It has also been reported that the Serie A side are prepared to offer £22.4 million for the defender, so it remains to be seen how Celtic react to that.
Ajer was a regular in the 2019/20 season for the Hoops. He made 49 appearances in all competitions and played 28 times in the league. So if Ajer leaves, Celtic might need a central defender who can slot straight into the club’s first team.
Celtic could weaken themselves if they sell a regular first-team player like Ajer and that wouldn’t help them in their pursuit of a 10th Premiership title in a row next season. Therefore, selling him will be a risk at this point and it would perhaps be best to keep Ajer at Parkhead if they are unable to source a viable replacement for the Norwegian.