Kristoffer Ajer hailed once again by Celtic support

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Celtic’s temporary right-back Kristoffer Ajer has been receiving the love from supporters on social media yet again.

For the second time in two competitive games, the Norwegian was asked to fill in down the right. That’s despite the fact Ajer’s natural position is as at centre-back. But when you have the quality he has on the ball, it doesn’t really matter where you play.

Ajer, as expected, strolled it once again against Sarajevo. He still doesn’t look natural when he tries to bomb up the right and get crosses into the penalty area. But he continues to remain solid in the position, and didn’t look uncomfortable throughout the night.

Naturally, that’s led to even more praise for the big man on Twitter. Here’s a look at some of the reaction to Ajer’s display against the Bosnians:

https://twitter.com/BrandonM__67/status/1151608026249531392

“Right-back Kristoffer Ajer” isn’t something that we’ll keep saying

These little experiments seem to always occur in the early Champions League qualifiers. Nir Bitton at centre-back is a persistent one, and Ajer at right-back is another to fall into that category.

The truth is that it has its time and place. A first-round qualifier against a poor Bosnian outfit, which Sarajevo are if we’re being honest, is a good time to try different things. Ajer bossed things on the night, and looked impressive against that standard of opposition.

But it also doesn’t take away from the fact that he isn’t a natural right-back. Agains better sides in the latter qualifying rounds, we could be punished if we don’t have a more suitable player in that position.

Should the deal for Hatem Abd Elhamed go through, that could allow Ajer to drop back into centre-back, where he’s so often dominant. Elhamed has experience at right-back too, even though he’s also primarily comfortable in the centre.

But we still lose so much not having Ajer at the centre of defence. His colossal figure and ability to open teams up with driving runs is a tad wasted on the right side. Neil Lennon has already admitted that it isn’t permanent in any case (BBC, 21:04)

In fairness, it doesn’t stop him putting in a real shift for Celtic wherever he plays. It’s no surprise then that the Hoops fans have so much affection for the big man.