Celtic have put a £15million valuation on Kristoffer Ajer and have identified Sampdoria centre-back Omar Colley as his replacement, according to the Daily Mail (print edition, 10/09, back page).
The Mail believes that Celtic will only look to sign Serie A defender Colley if Ajer leaves this summer. That’s despite previous reports stating that the Gambian could cost as much as £10m (Sky Sports).
The newspaper also states that there has been no offers as of yet come in for Norwegian Ajer. The Glasgow Times reported after Celtic’s Champions League exit to Ferencvaros that his agent has requested a valuation for his services.
However, it appears that Celtic do indeed have a plan in motion if one of their top centre-backs is to be sold this summer.
Celtic head into this Saturday’s clash with Ross County with Ajer well in contention to start the game despite the arrival of Shane Duffy.
A reasonable fee for a player who has his faults
Ajer is a fine footballer, let’s get that out of the way. The former Start midfielder-turned-defender is extremely in stepping out of defence, and can be aggressive in the challenge when he wants to be.
However, his clumsiness in the past has cost us in key moments. Whether it be needless grappling with opposition attackers or making a poor pass out from the back, he certainly has some mistakes in him.
That’s fine. No player goes through their career without making mistakes, and centre-backs more than anyone have theirs magnified. But if we can get a fee in the region of £15m for Ajer, you can’t look at that as anything other than good business.
It would then allow Celtic to go and sign Colley and potentially even make a profit in doing so.
Gambian Colley would arrive at Parkhead with plenty of experience in his locker too. He has over 50 appearances in Serie A to his name along with another 54 in Belgium (Transfermarkt). Nothing in Scotland should faze him.
But of course, Celtic’s primary goal would surely be to hold onto Ajer for now. He’s been a key part of our nine-in-a-row success, and deserves the chance to make history with the 10 if he wishes to stay put.
In other news, Scott McDonald believes one Celtic midfielder could still leave the club this summer.
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