Ajer targeting a place on Celts’ Euro mission
CELTIC new Bhoy Kristoffer Ajer last night set his sights on a Champions League baptism of fire. The 17-year-old holding midfielder has signed a four-year deal with the Scottish champions, following the agreement of a £500,000 fee with Norwegian Tippeligaen club IK Start. Ajer will rejoin his Start teammates for the Norwegian spring season before heading back to Parkhead in the summer. Celtic boss Ronny Deila has yet to declare whether Ajer, viewed as one of Norway’s hottest young prospects, is a first-team contender or a project for the future. But Ajer insisted that he is ready to hit the ground running, having already played close to 50 first-team games for Start, who made him captain at the age of 16. ‘Start have been struggling with the academy, so they haven’t got a big squad,’ he revealed. ‘I hope I will still be playing there, so that I will be ready for the Champions League qualifiers. ‘It should be absolutely perfect — and then I will come here. ‘Celtic are such a big club that they
must be playing in the Champions League, so that’s what I will try for. ‘It’s hard to tell how long it will take me to get into the first-team, but I certainly want to play a lot of games. ‘I need to prove myself, develop, look good in training and in any playing time I get. Time will show but, hopefully, I will play a lot. That is my goal. That’s why I came here, to prove myself good enough. ‘I have already played 50 matches in the Premiership in Norway, so I think I am ready to take the step.’ The Scottish champions have been seeking cover for Nir Bitton and Scott Brown in Deila’s favoured 4-2-3-1 system. Confident and mature for his years, Ajer says the search is now over. ‘I play as a holding midfielder that likes to be on the ball and win it back again,’ he said That’s what I did with Start and that is what I hope to do at Celtic. ‘This is a huge club with a lot of history. The demands are high. You must win trophies every year and that is what I want to do.’ Meanwhile, Celtic flop Nadir Ciftci is facing a Turkish FA disciplinary charge for ‘insulting language and unsporting behaviour’ after he was sent off in only his second game on loan at Eskisehirspor. Ciftci was booked twice in the space of a minute.