RISETH INSISTS AJER CAN FOLLOW IN FOOTSTEPS OF £75M VAN DIJK
Former Parkhead star Riseth insists young Norwegian Ajer has ability to follow in footsteps of Liverpool’s new £75m centre-half
AMID the blizzard of fixtures Celtic faced over the festive period, Brendan Rodgers found himself fielding questions on two main fronts.
If Virgil van Dijk’s impending £75million move from Southampton to Liverpool and the £7.5m windfall eventually blowing Celtic’s way was more of an issue for the future, the likelihood of Kristoffer Ajer featuring against Rangers last Saturday was very much one for the present.
Anyone walking late into Rodgers’ press conference at Dens Park on Boxing Day might well have wondered which particular matter the Celtic boss was addressing.
Eulogising about the 19-year-old’s physique, pace, alertness and use of the ball, the Northern Irishman could easily have been talking about the record-breaking Dutchman.
There was no need to throw in a supplementary enquiry about the likelihood of Ajer featuring in the derby. He was always going to be playing and, on the back of a fourth straight clean sheet, he may now take some shifting.
If it’s taken the teenager the best part of two years to become an overnight success at Celtic, then absolutely no one at the club envisaged him making an indelible mark before now.
Signed from IK Start as a 17-year-old by Ronny Deila after enjoying trials at Barcelona and Roma, the former midfielder was always one for the future.
But after spending the latter part of last season at Kilmarnock, it seems the time has now arrived.
How far can he eventually go? Well, given time and a fair wind at his back, former Celtic midfielder Vidar Riseth believes that continued comparisons with Van Dijk are not beyond his fellow Norwegian in the future.
‘There is every chance that Celtic could also sell Kris for a lot of money in the future,’ Riseth told
Sportsmail. ‘He’s a big talent. I knew at the time he was a really good signing for Celtic.
‘There were a lot of big clubs looking at him. I knew he wouldn’t go straight in to the first team as he was young and needed time, but now we are seeing his qualities.
‘That’s four games in a row he’s played in and Celtic haven’t lost a goal. If you look at Liverpool signing Van Dijk for such crazy money — and Ajer who’s not at that level yet but is seven years younger than him — I think there can be comparisons one day.
‘Like Van Dijk, Kris is big, strong, fast and can play football. That’s all you are looking for in a defender. In terms of defenders from Norway, I think he’s the biggest talent since we saw Ronny Johnsen playing for Manchester United.
‘There haven’t been any really good defenders since then. Kris can take over from Ronny.’
Norway’s failure to finish above Germany, Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic in their World Cup qualifying group means that’s likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Not a man accustomed to such failure, manager Lars Lagerback is poised to take a new broom to the national side.
Together with Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard, Dennis Johnsen of Ajax and Liverpool’s Edvard Tagseth, Ajer is seen as a standardbearer for the next generation.
‘I think he will be in the squad for the next game,’ Riseth stated. ‘Okay, he’s still young but it would be a big surprise if he’s not a big part of the plans soon.
‘In half a year, I think he’ll be a regular player for Norway.
‘We aren’t good enough at the moment and we need new players like him.
A frequent viewer of Celtic’s games from afar, opportunities to monitor Ajer’s progress until recently were limited for Riseth.
However, the chance to view him at close quarters for Norway’s Under-21s recently proved an eyebrow-raising experience. The tall thin boy from the village of Raelingen was now a man.
‘I’ve seen the past three Celtic games that Kris has been involved with,’ added Riseth.
‘It’s not been a huge surprise to me as I’ve also seen him playing for the Under-21s back in Norway. He’s the captain of that team.
‘The last time I saw him playing for Norway a few months ago I thought he had developed so much. When he was last back in Norway, he was obviously still tall but he was much skinnier. Now he’s got much bigger muscles and he’s tougher.
‘After he moved to Celtic, I talked with him to warn him that it was physical football.
‘You have to be strong in the air, strong one against one and go all-in in tackles. You can see he’s been working really hard off the park. He’s much more of an animal now.
‘I’m not that surprised at the impact he is now making. He has a big future. It was really good for him to go away from Celtic on loan. That let him play regular matches. Since he’s been in the team, he’s done really well. He was one of Celtic’s best players against Rangers.’
Much can happen over the course of the winter break. Marvin Compper has yet to prove his worth to his new team-mates. Jozo Simunovic has some making up to do. Erik Sviatchenko is likely to be moving on.
By the time Celtic face Brechin City in the Scottish Cup on January 20, Ajer could still be stage front and centre or be part of the supporting cast again.
Come what may in the shortterm, however, Riseth will have no doubts. The modest six-figure fee which Celtic parted with for Ajer’s services two years ago will one day be seen as another shrewd investment.
‘I’ve been saying it for a long, long time,’ he continued. ‘When Kris played in Norway, he played in midfield, sometimes attacking, sometimes defensive. That was great for his development and learning of the game.
‘Now he’s playing in the right position. He can play in midfield but he’s a defender for me and he’ll flourish there.
‘He’s a very smart kid. If you look at most players who are 19, most of them are mentally 19. But I would say he is more like 26. He’s smart and has grown up really fast.
‘That helps any young player who has moved abroad at a young age. For some, there are too many difficulties off the field but Kris has the maturity to handle it.’