Celtic manager Neil Lennon confirmed before the weekend that Kristoffer Ajer could be in line for a new deal, just hours before he was linked with a big-money move.
The Norwegian actually renewed his contract with the club as recently as May 2018. Celtic managed to tie the internationalist down to a new four-year deal.
On Sunday, however, The Sun reported that Leicester City are preparing a £20million summer deal to lure him to the King Power Stadium (3/11, page 61).
But Lenny, speaking in the Daily Record, confirmed just hours beforehand that Celtic could be looking to tie him down for the long-term.
“Kris Ajer is one we might look at. He’s played nearly all the games since I’ve been in and I’m very happy with him as well.
“These players are obviously assets too, and there will be admirers out there, no question, with the way they are playing.
“So, it’s a bit of protection for us as well as settling down the players if they are getting agitated by a little bit of speculation.”
Ajer’s contract being extended shouldn’t halt Leicester
It’s fair to say that any new deal for Ajer would improve confidence in keeping him from the supporters. However, it surely wouldn’t be enough to halt any summer bids.
At the end of the day, a £20m bid is a £20m bid. It doesn’t matter how long the player is contracted to the club four. As it stands, his deal is set to expire in 2022. Ajer is, therefore, one of the players we already have secured for the foreseeable future.
What it would be is a nice statement from the player himself that he’s happy here. A sign that he isn’t going to force any summer move through. If a club wants to come and take him, they’ll have to stump up the appropriate level of cash.
So that could be in Lennon’s thinking. But if Ajer’s contract is going to be renewed, you have to imagine this is solely down to making a statement.
After all, there are others whose situation is in more desperate need of resolving. The likes of Nir Bitton, Jonny Hayes, and Scott Sinclair are all out of contract at the end of the season. But no decision appears to have been made on any of them.
Regardless, it’s great to see Neil going about trying to tie down our best players. However, in Ajer’s case, a new deal wouldn’t change too much from Leicester’s perspective.
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