Krisoffer Ajer has received another blow after being snubbed once again for an end-of-season award. The Norwegian defender missed out on a place in the PFA’s Young Player of the Year award last week. He’s now been overlooked for the Football Writers version.
The Daily Record reports that no Celtic player has been considered for the award. Instead, Motherwell pair David Turnbull and Jake Hastie, Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson and Kilmarnock left-back Greg Taylor are all being considered.
The news may not matter a great deal to Ajer who will be more focussed on his side’s final three games of the season. However, it’s still strange to see a defender with such a good clean sheet record not be recognised.
Celtic have kept 15 clean sheets with Ajer in the side since Christmas. The Norwegian has also produced match winning performances like the one in March’s derby clash against Rangers.
A victim of his own success
The centre-back is perhaps being unfairly treated because of the team he plays for. If he’d have performed to the same level in a Motherwell or Kilmarnock shirt then he would no doubt have been nominated. The level expected of a Celtic player is so high that good performances are often less appreciated than they would be at a lesser club.
The same can be said of Odsonne Edouard who has netted 15 league goals at the age of 21. So much was expected of the Frenchman, due to his PSG background and hefty price tag, that people aren’t willing to acknowledge how good he has been. Any other 21 year-old who had netted 15 league goals would’ve been a certainty for the award, never mind nomination.
Celtic’s young players are a victim of their own success in many ways. Their performances have gone unnoticed due to massive hype, and perhaps their nationality. It won’t matter a great deal to them though. All they will care about is winning one match at the end of May and adding another medal to their collection.
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