WEST HAM UNITED have failed in their latest bid for Wesley Fofana of St Etienne. The Hammers are needing a centre half and they could look to revive their reported interest in Celtic’s Kris Ajer. The 19-year-old was the subject of a £33m bid from David Moyes’ side but the Ligue 1 side have opted against selling him to the London club meaning that the Hammers will be forced to look at alternatives – according to Sky Sports.
The Express reported that Ajer was a target for West Ham at the start of the month but now with interest in Ajer calming from Italy, Celtic could be braced for a bid from the Premier League.
The 22-year-old would likely command a fee of £20m and after Celtic beat West Ham to Shane Duffy, they could come back to haunt Lennon with an offer.
Ajer joined Celtic from IK Start in 2016 for £500,000 as a midfielder; however, Brendan Rodgers retrained the youngster as a central defender. The Norwegian became a first team regular striking up a partnership with Dedryck Boyata and impressing in the centre of defence.
Ajer had struck up a formidable partnership with Christopher Jullien at the heart of the Celtic defence before Neil Lennon opted for a 3-5-2 in the second half of the season. The Norwegian has made 49 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish Champions as they won the League and League Cup and has been a constant since this season began. He would be a major loss for the club and a player of his quality would need to be replaced but a price tag of £20m could be looked at.