Kris Ajer according to The Athletic is unhappy that Celtic have knocked back two bids from Norwich City and Bayer Leverkusen for the Norwegian defender, each believed to have been for £10m. The Celtic Star broke both stories of interest in the Celtic defender from the new arrivals in the English Premier League and the German side who in January paid around £11.5m for Jeremie Frimpong.
Ajer has made his intentions to leave Celtic this summer very clear and believes he reached an agreement wit the club’s outgoing CEO Peter Lawwell last summer which was re-confirmed in January, that he would be allowed to leave this summer provided Celtic’s transfer valuation was met.
Newcastle Utd had harboured ambitions on getting the Norwegian on the cheap, with their interest believed to have been at around the £7m mark, that’s certainly not going to happen. Neither side have completely walked away from their interest in Kris Ajer although Norwich City are making it known that they are now looking at their options elsewhere as they look to strengthen their defence ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Life at Leverkusen will be well known to Ajer via his pal Frimpong and the Bundesliga side are also involved in the Europa League next season. But maybe it’s the chance to play in the Premier League that will interest Ajer most and he’ll have to await developments to see if Norwich come back with an offer that will meet Celtic’s expectations, which could be another £5m onto their initial bid.
Celtic too will have to be pragmatic about the situation, with the risk that the player decides to stay for a year to see out his contract before walking away on a free. That is exactly the scenario that the Odsonne Edouard camp put out after Celtic failed to reach an agreement with Leicester City for the French striker.
Ajer to Norwich for £12.5m might be the middle ground that allows the Norwegian to get the move away from Celtic he wants.
Speaking earlier this month while away with the Norwegian squad Ajer made his position perfectly clear.
“I was promised I could leave last summer, but we then agreed I would stay to try and help club win 10 in a row. That was important to the club, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed. Now I’m expecting the club to keep its word.
“There is not a set fee agreed (that club will sell him for), but I expect them to find a solution.”
Ajer also stated that Celtic repeated their promise to sell him as recently as this January. “This won’t come as a surprise to the club, they know what I want. I think it is important for them to sell me to get funds in order to help with a rebuild of the club,” he added.
Asked if he is aware that his comments will cause a stir: “Yes I am. At the same time I hope my intentions are clear. I’ve been at the club for 5 years and given my all. I hope people will appreciate I want to give something back to the club and not go for a free (next summer).”
Ajer believes both parties will benefit from a transfer in the summer. He emphasises his wish not to leave the club empty handed with no transfer fee and how important it is to him: “Quite simply, I’ve become a Celtic supporter.”
Asked about his time in Glasgow, Ajer had this to say: “Celtic is a fantastic club. From outside, it’s difficult to understand how big the club is: playing in front of 60,000 spectators every weekend, walking around the streets and really feeling the atmosphere, it’s been absolutely fantastic.”I’ve really gotten to know Scottish people, they’re incredibly warm and I have made close relationships here that have supported me through both ups and downs. Celtic has been a fantastic experience and is a club I owe extremely much to,” he added.
“I don’t feel I’ve outgrown Celtic. Celtic is a huge club that require you to be at your best all the time. But I want to see how far I can get and for that I have to play in a better league. I think it’s important for my development that I go to a higher level (of league).
“I’ve trained really hard every single day and have achieved what I have today because I’ve put in the most work. Now I want to see how far I can get, and for that I think it’s important to play in a top five league”
“When playing for Norway I’ve experienced that the quality of opposition has caught me by surprise at times, so I think it is important for the future that I get to a better league. But again, I have to must emphasise that I’ve become extremely fond of Celtic. I could have stayed for another six months and taken most of the transfer fee myself, but leaving now means I can give something back to a club that has meant so much me.”
£12.5M with only a year left on his contract? I think that Webber will leave you holding an over-valued Ajer and move on to other higher value options.