AJER WILL BE BIG MISS FOR CELTIC SAYS SVIATCHENKO

FC Midtjylland captain Erik Sviatchenko believes Kristoffer Ajer's absence from the Celtic side is good news for the Danish outfit's Champions League bid.

The 23-year-old Norway defender has been left out of Ange Postecoglou's squad for the first leg of the qualifier at Parkhead tonight with speculation linking him with a move to Brentford in the Premier League.

Sviatchenko, inset, played at Celtic between 2016 and 2018 when Ajer was taking early steps to becoming a highly-rated first-team regular at Parkhead.

He said: "Kristoffer has done an amazing job since he came in as a youth player back in 2016 and has been through so many great things with the club and has given his all with a lot of trophies and a lot of great performances.

"He has developed into a player who attracts interest.

"The Premier League clubs have an extra edge compared to the Scottish Premiership clubs, so for him to develop and take the next step, he would need to play in the Premier

League. "I'm really, really happy for him, especially because he has won so many trophies and done so many good things for the club. He'll be a big miss because he has been a key player over the last couple of seasons. It's good for us and not so good for Celtic."

Sviatchenko, who won a domestic treble with Celtic in 2017, will take no notice of the club’s demise last season when they finished the campaign without a trophy for the first time in a decade.

He said: "I think it's normal to go through a time of transition. I think Celtic are facing that [at the moment].