Kris Ajer has praised the mindset instilled in him during his time at Celtic Park, insisting that it will stand him in good stead for his first season in the Premier League. The player left the club earlier this summer in a deal worth up to £18m for the London side after making 176 appearances for Celtic. The central defender was impressive for the club for a number of season but a parting of the ways was inevitable with the player having just a year remaining on his deal.
Ajer will likely line-up in Thomas Frank’s Brentford starting XI for their Premier League opener against Arsenal at home tonight and he told The Times that he believes his time at Celtic will help him
“I leave there with a smile on my face. I think you have to have the same mentality coming to the Premier League club as being in Celtic, you have to walk out on the pitch and think that you’re going to win a game, it doesn’t matter.
“Obviously, you know that you’re going to play a stronger team and you know that you will be punished even harder for mistakes, you know, that they will create more chances and be more clinical when they score goals.
“But then you have to be even more prepared. You have to be even more focused when you play the game. So it’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to when you walk out on a pitch.”
Ajer began his career with IK Start before Celtic raided in 2016 for Ajer. The player arrived as a midfielder but then-manager Brendan Rodgers retrained the youngster as a central defender and he went out on loan to prove his worth. He returned, bulked up and proved to be a mainstay in the centre of the Celtic defence. On returning, Ajer became a mainstay of the Double Treble, Treble Treble and Quadruple Treble successes, he even scored the winning penalty against Hearts in the rearranged 2020 Final.
