Celtic loanee Albian Ajeti overcomes injury woe to make immediate goal impact; transfer clause

By John McGinley

March 19, 2023

Celtic striker Albian Ajeti, on loan at Sturm Graz, overcame a hamstring injury to score just minutes into his return to action on Sunday.

The Swiss forward, who made the season-long switch at the start of the campaign, has been out injured for more than a month with the muscle problem.

He was substituted on during today’s match away to WSG Tirol with just five minutes remaining and immediately made an impact to score their second goal in a 2-0 victory. It’s just his fourth goal of the season from 18 appearances but a positive sign he can get back on track.

Celtic can still earn money from Ajeti

Ajeti’s career at the Bhoys is essentially over in any meaningful fashion, with an option-to-buy included in his loan – suggesting Ange Postecoglou and Celtic are happy to move on from his services. It’s said to be worth around €2.5m to Celtic if it goes through.

However, his contract technically runs in Glasgow until 2024 and he’ll be heading back to the Bhoys if that transfer option is not taken up. It’s better for everyone involved if he now hits decent form and earns a permanent move somewhere, even if it’s not Sturm Graz.

The 26-year-old does seem to be valued in Austria, featuring in the vast majority of matches he’s been available for, including consistent starts in the UEFA Europa League – where he came up against former Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko.

Ajeti has made 48 appearances in total for the Bhoys having arrived as a much-hyped signing during Neil Lennon’s last season in charge. He didn’t live up to most people’s expectations and only made six starts for Postecoglou last term.

If we can recoup some of the money shelled out for him it’d be a bonus, with Celtic now moving on to more exciting attacking options such as Kyogo Furuhashi and Hyeongyu Oh.

In other news, Ange’s Celtic match Brendan Rodgers title-winning points total with 9 games to spare.