Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer has received an impressive, but expected, call up to the Norway national team.
The 21-year-old has been chosen by head coach Lars Lagerback for the upcoming qualifiers against Malta and Norway. The central-defender, who has been used at right-back for Celtic in recent weeks, is once again one of the youngest players in his country’s squad.
In fact only former wonderkid Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland are younger than the Celtic ace.
Ajer may have recommended some Norway teammates
Ajer is joined on the official squad list by a number of players who Celtic fans will be familiar with. Former Hoops man Stefan Johansen, the captain, is chosen in midfield while striker Tarik Elyounoussi is likely to come up against us for AIK on Thursday night.
However, there are some more notable names alongside Ajer in the list of defenders. Both Omar Elabdellaoui and Birger Meling have been linked with moves to Glasgow this summer to help sort our full-back issues.
Celtic sent a scout to watch Rosenborg man Meling play last week while Elabdellaoui’s likely participation in the Champions League for Olympiacos will probably end any hopes we have of signing him.
It will be interesting to see if Ajer has had any say in our moves for either player. The big Norwegian will know both full-backs from international duty and may be in as good a place as any scout to comment on their suitability to Celtic.
Time will tell if the club pursue a move for Meling in the final week of the transfer window. The 24-year-old has impressed against us while playing for Rosenborg and is also likely to be available for a pretty reasonable fee.
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