Pundit Anthony Haggerty has recently talked about Kristoffer Ajer, making his criticism clear for the Norwegian defender.
This came after Celtic’s 2-0 loss to Rangers in the Scottish Cup recently and Haggerty appeared as a guest on the ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ podcast, where the pundit talked about Ajer and his future at Parkhead.
Haggerty made it clear that he’d drive Ajer to wherever he wants to go, describing him as a defender who can’t defend for Celtic in the important and big games.
Would you like Ajer to leave?
Yes
No
Ajer has been linked with a move to Newcastle United in recent months, but Gordon Strachan recently slammed him for one of Rangers’ goals in the game. He believes that the Norwegian sold Diego Laxalt short and he should’ve helped out the Uruguayan more.
Haggerty referred to Strachan’s comments and slated Ajer for his abilities. He said (36:38): “He can go, I’ll drive him to wherever he wants to go. I know it’s not a popular opinion but I’ve given my reasons why.
“And yesterday, thankfully, a man who knows a wee bit more about football than me – Gordon Strachan agreed with me, that he was hopelessly out of position for the first goal because he passed your man onto Laxalt or Jonjoe Kenny. I was like, yes, Gordon. Thanks very much because you’ve seen what I’m seeing. A man that can’t read situations in big, important matches for Celtic, he’ll not do it for me.”
TIF Thoughts on Ajer…
Ajer has been a regular for the Bhoys in the current campaign, having made 31 appearances in the Premiership and even scoring one goal. He has picked up a rating of 7.16, with only six Celtic players having picked up a better rating than him (as per Whoscored).
The defender has played at right-back as well in the current campaign, which shows how valuable a player he can be.
So if Celtic want to part ways with Ajer in the summer, they should try to earn as much as they can from his sale. Or they might struggle to replace him because of how regularly he plays and his versatility.
In other news: ‘Shouldn’t play for Celtic again’ – McGinley blasts £3.6m-rated ace who’s ‘not good enough’