Boyata urged to stay at Celtic amid Fulham links
● Ajer says team-mate should remain at Celtic for another Champions League tilt but reports suggest Fulham are poised for big-money bid
Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata has been urged to stay at Celtic for another tilt at the Champions League by his team-mate Kristoffer Ajer.
Boy at a’s future at the club remains in doubt with Fulham understood to be pursuing a firm interest in the 27-year-old Belgian international who has just a year remaining on his contract.
Sources in Boy at a’ s homeland claim the English Premier League club are prepared to pay £9 million for the player whose reputation was significantly enhanced by his performances for Belgium in the World Cup finals in Russia this summer.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has remained hopeful Boyata will agree to sign a new contract with the Scottish champions. But if Boyata sets his heart on a return to the English Premier League, an offer of that size for a player who joined Celtic for just £1.5 million from Manchester City three years ago would be hard to reject.
Boyata returned to training with the Celtic first-team squad last week and is in line to make his first appearance of these ason tomorrow night when they face AEK Athens at Parkhead in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.
With the transfer window for English Premier League clubs closing on Thursday night, a decision on Boyata’s situation now appears imminent.
“I would like to see Dedryck stay,” said Ajer, pictured, the 20-year-old Norwegian international who partnered Boyata at the heart of Celtic’s defence for much of last season.
“He has been fantastic at Celtic and I would like to keep playing beside him and keep learning from him. He’s been back from the World Cup for a while now and is a top professional who always keeps fit.
“He was obviously very happy with Belgium’s World Cup achievements. It was great for them and good to see.
“Dedryck and other experienced centre-halves have helped my development a lot. He talks to me every single game we play together. We played a lot together last season and he was fantastic at communicating with me throughout the game. He’s been really helpful
“The squad is getting stronger now, with Dedryck back and Jozo Simunovic available again after suspension for the game against AEK.
“That’s how it is at Celtic, there is competition in every area of the pitch and that is healthy because it pushes you hard in training every day and you have to be performing in every game.”
Meanwhile, Celtic, should they beat AEK Athens, will face either Swedish side Malmo or Hungarian champions Mol Vidi, formerly Videoton, to reach the Champions League group stages.
Old and familiar foes lurk around every turn in the Champions League qualifying maze for Celtic and they could face another rematch if they r e a c h t h e p l ay - o f f r o u n d o f t h i s season’s tournament.
Ye s te r d ay ’s d r aw a t Ue f a HQ i n Nyon set up a potential showdown with Malmo, the Swedish champions who denied Celtic a place in the group stage three years ago in what proved to be Ronny Deila’s last season in charge of the club.
The opportunity to avenge the 4-3 aggregate defeat suffered by Celtic at the final qualifying hurdle back in 2015 is an enticing and not overly daunting prospect for a squad who h ave i m p r o ve d s o m u c h u n d e r Brendan Rodgers in the subsequent two seasons.
B e f o r e i t b e c o m e s a r e a l i t y, o f course, Celtic must first of all find a way beyond AEK Athens in the third qualifying round, with the first leg of that tie against the Greek champions in Glasgow tomorrow night.
For their part, Malmo also have to justify their status as the seeded side in their own third qualifying round meeting with Hungarian champions Vidi, the first leg of which takes place in Sweden tonight.
Malmo are now under the guida n c e o f Uwe R o s l e r, t h e f o r m e r Manchester Cit y striker, who was appointed as their new head coach in June this year.
T h e 4 9 - ye a r - o l d G e r ma n , wh o began his coaching career in Scandinavia with several Norwegian clubs, was something of a surprise choice. Rosler’s managerial stock was not especially high in the aftermath of his sacking in February by English third-tier outfit Fleetwood Town after a run of seven consecutive defeats.
B u t t h e f o r me r B r e n tf o r d , Wi g a n a n d L e e d s U n i t e d b o s s h a s s t a r t e d well at Malmo where he is undefeated in his first eight games in charge. That spell h a s i n c l u d e d a c o m - for table 5- 0 ag gre - gate win over Kosovan side Drita in the first qualifying round of the Champ i o n s L e a g u e a n d a harder fought 2-1 a g g r e g a t e s u c c e s s a g a i n s t R o m a n i a n c h a m p i o n s C l u j i n the second qualifying round.
M a r k u s R o s e n b o r g , f a r r i g h t , w h o s c o r e d Malmo’s first goal in the decisive 2- 0 second leg v i c t o r y ove r C e l t i c a t the Swedbank Stadium in 2015, remains the key man and captain of the side. At 35, the former West Bromwich Albion striker has s c o r e d t e n g o a l s i n 2 3 app earances this sea - son.
H e i s a b l y a s s i s t - e d b y h i s h i g h l y r a t e d 2 2 - ye a r - o l d par tner up front, C a r l o s S t r a n d - b e r g , w h o h a s a l r e a d y s c o r e d t h r e e t i m e s i n t h e C h a m p i o n s League qualifiers. W h i l e M a l m o will b e the favourites against Vidi, the Hungarian champions cannot be discounted after their surprise 1-0 aggregate win over Bulgarian side Ludogorets in the previous round.
Better known as Videoton – their name was changed to MOL Vidi for sponsorship reasons this year – the high point of their European history was reaching the Uefa Cup final in 1985 where they lost to Real Madrid. Their only previous meeting with S cottish opponents came in 198990 when they lost 4-0 on aggregate to Hibs in the first round of the Uefa Cup.
The most recognisable name in their current squad is Serbian striker Stefan Scepovic, who had a less than fulfilling spell as a Celtic player after joining them in a £2.3 million deal from Sporting Gijon in 2014.
Scepovic scored just six goals in 26 games for Celtic before returning to Spanish football with Getafe. Now 28, he joined Videoton in Januar y this year where he is a team-mate of his younger brother and fellow striker Marko. Unsurprisingly, Celtic are not allowing themselves to look beyond the immediate task in hand against AEK Athens. “It will always be difficult to qualify for the Champions League group stage so when we meet so many great teams we have to be focused only on the next one,” said defender Kristoffer Ajer, so impressive in the 3-1 aggregate victory over Rosenborg in the previous round.
“T h a t c o m e s o n We d n e s d a y against AEK and that is all we are thinking about. They won the Greek League last season so we know that they will be a good team.
“Every time you play at home in the first leg of a European qualifier it is important to get a good result. That is what we hope for but I have to say that when you play at Celtic Park you are used to a fantastic atmosphere, one of the best in the world.
“It’s d ifficult to say what would be a good result for us in the first leg against AEK but, of course, it’s always important to try not to concede a goal in the first leg. That’s something we will hope to avoid.
“But I think there’s not a big difference if you play home or away first in Europe now. It’s always good to have the home crowd with you but it do esn’t really matter if it’s in the first or second leg.”
If Celtic are knocked out by AEK, they will drop into the play- off round of the Europa League where yesterday’s draw paired them with the losers of the tie between Latvian champ i o n s S p a r t a k s Ju r ma l a o f Latvia and Suduva of Lithuania.
C e l t i c p r e v i o u s l y f a c e d S u d u v a b a c k i n 2 0 0 2 - 0 3 , kicking off their run to the Uefa Cup final that season with a 10-1 aggregate victor y over the Lithuanians in the first round.