Albian Ajeti has admitted that he wanted to remain at Celtic this season in an effort to prove his worth to the club. After two seasons at the club, Ajeti was unable to make an impression that someone commanding a £4.5m transfer fee would hope for. Accordingly, the club appeared keen to move him along.
Ajeti left Celtic for Strum Graz earlier this year as the player sought regular football. The player has made 11 appearances across all competitions this season, scoring 3 goals.
Speaking to Football Scotland, Ajeti stated that he wished to remain at Celtic for another year to prove that he was not a flop and could contribute to Ange’s team.
“That was the reason I wanted to stay another year at Celtic; I wanted to show everyone what I’m actually capable of.
“The fans, most of the players haven’t actually seen what I’m capable of or what my qualities are because first of all, I haven’t played much. I haven’t had many starts in both seasons, especially in the second season I had four or five starts.
“It was hard for me. I had many good conversations in the pre-season with the manager, Ange. He obviously gave me a lot of confidence throughout the pre-season, I think I had quite a good pre-season.
“As a player, this is what you need after a tough first season, you need confidence. I had this confidence, but game-by-game we were winning, it was hard for me to get into the team.
“After pre-season, I wasn’t playing much. For me, there was not much to do other than to accept it and just work even harder to make pressure in training at least.
“In September, that’s when I had my first start of the season. I got my opportunity there and I wanted to show it too much.
“I played four games or something; Ross County at home, Betis away and there was another Cup game at home. I don’t think I did that bad, I still scored three goals and assisted one. But this is football.”
Ajeti signed from David Moyes’ West Ham United in the summer of 2020 as Celtic favoured the Swiss striker over Ivan Toney. Over two seasons, Ajeti has made 48 appearances and found the net on 9 occasions. With Kyogo and Giorgos Giakoumakis showing their best form last season, Ajeti slipped out of the picture after Christmas due to an injury and he was eventually outwith the first team picture. As one of the club’s highest earners, it made sense that he was moved on if the club were not receiving their perceived value in return.
During the interview, Ajeti also admitted that he is holding out some hope for a Celtic return in the future. SEE HERE.
