Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph has recently discussed the future of Kristoffer Ajer and his wishes to leave Celtic.
Ajer recently revealed in an interview that he wants to leave Celtic this summer, confirming that it’ll benefit both parties if he departs the club. The Norwegian also made it clear that he wants to play for a club in the top five leagues of Europe, while hailing his time at Parkhead.
Joseph appeared on the latest episode of the Only As Good As Your Last Game podcast, stating that the defender also wanted to leave last summer – and that with Bayer Leverkusen now interested in him, the Hoops are looking to earn around £10 million from Ajer’s sale.
Can Celtic earn a fee of £10 million from Ajer's sale?
Yes
No
The Sky Sports journalist said: “Kristoffer Ajer, we understand, had spoken to Celtic – Ajer and [Olivier] Ntcham were the two players [who had] spoken to Celtic last summer and said that if a bid comes in for our player, would they be allowed to leave?
“This was actually before the Ferencvaros game, but Neil Lennon brought it to light after the Ferencvaros game – almost using it as an excuse that there’s players here that are wanting to leave.
“But no moves materialised for either player, no bids came in. AC Milan were tracking Kristoffer Ajer quite heavily, and they were preparing to put a £15m bid for him.
“AC Milan ended up getting Fikayo Tomori on loan from Chelsea and did well for them, they’re trying to buy him with that clause. So they’ve ended their interest in Ajer.
“What we do know is that Bayer Leverkusen are in talks with Celtic to try and sign Kristoffer Ajer. I think Celtic will be hoping to get something near £10 million for him. But it’s no further on than they’re in talks, we know Bayer Leverkusen like him a lot. And we could see a link-up again between Kristoffer Ajer and Jeremie Frimpong.”
TIF Thoughts on Ajer’s future…
It was previously suggested that Newcastle were looking to offer a fee of £8 million to sign Ajer, who has his sights set on a move to the Premier League. Newly-promoted Norwich City are also said to be interested in the defender this summer.
It shows that there is quite a bit of interest in the defender and if Celtic want to get a fee of £10 million from Ajer’s sale, they should probably use interest from these clubs to drive up their asking price.
In other news: Sky Sports man reveals latest on Postecoglou’s backroom staff situation at Celtic