Former Celtic defender Johan Mjallby has given a glowing endorsement of the current Hoops centre-back partnership of Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer.
Mjallby reckons that the new look Hoops backline has “everything” that Neil Lennon would want, as he also detailed what makes the pair so good.
“Neil has everything in that pairing of Ajer and Jullien,” the Swede told the Scottish Sun. “They are very good in the air, strong physically, and they read the game well.
“Ajer is very good on the ball, and Jullien looks comfortable when he gets time.
“Jullien came with a big price tag and big things were expected.
“It took him time to get used to life at Celtic, but Jullien is a very good defender.”
Jullien and Ajer have the potential to be great
Mjallby is right to highlight the partnership of Jullien and Ajer. The pair may only have played a handful of games together so far but there is a feeling that they could both go on to perform really well in the coming months and years.
We’ve been crying out for a strong centre-back duo for years now. We got a brief glimpse, and had some success, when Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic played together. Sadly they both had injury troubles which affected their game times but it was an example of what can happen when you get that part of the team right.
Perhaps the best partnership we’ve had in the last decade was between Virgil Van Dijk and Jason Denayer. Those two were excellent for pretty much a full season under Ronny Deila, with Van Dijk taking the lead and marshalling the younger, but very reliable, Denayer.
Despite Ajer’s leadership qualities, you still get the impression Jullien may play the lead role in our current set-up. But that’s not a bad thing. Ajer is just as able to win headers and make tackles but perhaps he can learn from a more experienced head.
Whatever the case, it is a really promising part of the team worth tracking this season.
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