Celtic may have their hands full in January, but they owe it to the fans not to entertain Leicester’s reported interest in Kristoffer Ajer.
The Norwegian is reportedly on a list of defensive targets by Brendan Rodgers as he looks to find a long-term replacement for Harry Maguire. He was also apparently scouted by Leicester’s Sean St Ledger on Thursday night against Lazio. Crystal Palace were also represented, according to the Daily Mail.
Whilst big-money offers for our star men are always going to arrive when they’re playing well, there’s a time and a club to accept them and sell them to. Leicester shouldn’t be on that list.
Fans contain a huge amount of anger over how Rodgers departed the club nine months ago. He ditched us when we needed him most to go to the Premier League. That’s not something the supporters will ever forgive him for.
We’re not in a position where we NEED to sell to Leicester. And the idea of Rodgers weakening us further by taking our key players, regardless of the price, should be a no-go.
Sure, it may go against good business sense, but so what? It’s time for the board to back the supporters for a change and put their feelings over financial gain.
Plenty of reasons not to sell Ajer
But that’s not the only reason Celtic shouldn’t go selling the Norwegian.
There’s also the fact that he’s happy at the club and has recently signed a new long-term deal. He’s contracted to Parkhead until the summer of 2022. That’s still several years away. There’s no need to sell this January, and it would only break up a promising partnership between himself and Chris Jullien.
Allowing a deal to be done in mid-season may not be disastrous, but it would be detrimental to our title charge. After all, we may be able to sign a replacement, but would he be one of similar ability to Ajer? Doubtful considering the time of year.
It’s also worth noting that the Norwegian is currently going through a dip in form. However, if we can get him back up to speed and performing how he did last season, who knows what we could get for him?
January isn’t the time to go selling our best players. After all, this is the most delicate stage in our history in terms of success. If we sell our best players mid-season and then lost nine-in-a-row, no amount of money would be worth the pain that will cause our supporters.
Ajer is effectively a captain without an armband too. He leads from the front, and on his day is the second-best central-defender in Scotland behind Jullien.
There are almost countless reasons not to let Ajer leave the club in January. But will the board see it that way? Unlikely.
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