Acquisition of Ajer now paying off for Rodgers
EVERYWHERE he looks right now, Brendan Rodgers has reason to be thankful for the foresight of those who warmed the manager’s chair before him.
Three years after leaving Celtic, Neil Lennon’s faith in investing £2.6million in a centre-half from Groningen will see almost three times that figure shortly land in the Parkhead bank account.
Ahead of the opening of the January transfer window, 12 per cent minus deductions of Virgil van Dijk’s £75m move from Southampton to Liverpool ballasts Celtic’s already enviable financial position.
But it’s the acquisition of another centre-half prior to his watch that gladdens the heart of the current Celtic manager.
Signed just before it all went so horribly wrong for Ronny Deila almost two years ago, Kristoffer Ajer might well have suffered in Glasgow purely through his association with his compatriot.
The youngest player ever to captain a Norwegian club side at 16, Ajer’s reputation as being very much a work in progress was confirmed when Rodgers agreed to lend him to Kilmarnock for the second half of last season.
Had the Celtic manager not liked what he had seen, it’s likely the 19-year-old would have gone back to Rugby Park this term, too.
But the reasons behind his retention as back-up to Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic are now being made abundantly clear.
With Simunovic below par in the win over Hamilton and the defeat to Hearts, Ajer was handed the chance to partner Boyata, starting with the bounce-back win over Partick Thistle.
He retained his place for the victory over Aberdeen and, by the time he’d played in a third win without concession at Dens Park on Boxing Day, his manager was happy to figuratively pin a gold star on his lapel.
Referencing the former midfielder’s height, pace, physique and game-intelligence in glowing terms, Rodgers all but named him in the side which will start against Rangers tomorrow. But most seasoned observers believe that to be now taken as read.
‘When someone goes into that position, you want them to be a defender,’ said former Celtic skipper Tom Boyd. ‘Kris is doing that. He has defended well in the past three matches. But there is then one asset which he does have which comes with being converted from a midfield player. ‘He can step out with the ball at the right times and you can see the breaks that he makes out of the backline and into advanced positions which causes so many problems for opponents. ‘Who goes to him? Who picks him up? That’s a great asset to have but, as I said, the job entails that you have to do things properly in defending first and Kris is doing that at the moment. ‘So, on that basis, I can’t see any reason why he could not stay in the side for the Rangers game.’ Perm two from Callum McGregor, Olivier Ntcham and Stuart Armstrong to play with Scott Brown, Scott Sinclair and James Forrest, and Rodgers’ team takes shape. The real issue is who starts up front. Odsonne Edouard is likely to step back into the shadows to leave an intriguing straight fight between Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele. Griffiths looked razor sharp against Dundee. His goal came with a declaration that he was ‘the man’ but Rodgers batted away any suggestion the Scot was now in possession of the jersey. A transfer target for Brighton to name but one club, Celtic’s money men might be forced to watch the game through the cracks in their fingers should Dembele start. The off-chance of injury is something the manager cannot countenance, though. Three points is all that matters. ‘You can’t see the manager playing Leigh and Moussa,’ added Boyd. ‘You also have Odsonne around there. ‘Who does he go with? It’s a lovely decision to have.’