THE £50m MAN
● Celtic’s Ajer will land ‘crazy’ fee, says Riseth ● Norwegian ‘as good as any defender’ in England
THE natural first reaction is one of shocked disbelief. Fifty million pounds for a player — any player — currently plying his trade in Scotland?
Can’t happen. Won’t happen. Something doesn’t add up.
When Vidar Riseth puts that jaw-dropping price tag on compatriot Kristoffer Ajer, however, he’s not merely plucking figures from thin air.
Like most Norwegians, former Celtic star Riseth is a keen student of England’s Premier League. Having watched defenders like Harry Maguire (£80million), Aymeric Laporte (£57m), Benjamin Mendy (£50m), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£50m) and even John Stones (£47m) consistently moving for ever-increasing fees, he makes a strong argument for the madness of the market.
Some English club is going to pay silly money for a centre-half this summer. Why shouldn’t it be for a 22-year-old who, for all the criticism levelled at him during his formative years in the game, possesses all the tools required to excel on the biggest domestic stage of all?
For what it’s worth, Riseth’s most recent conversation with Ajer left him convinced that his young compatriot — already under contract until 2022 — actually wants to sign another new deal and commit himself to a longer tour of duty in Glasgow.
However, the decision may be taken out of his hands now that a number of English top-flight sides have joined a long list of suitors padded out by interest from Spain and Italy — most notably AC Milan.
Riseth told ‘If Celtic are going to sell Kristoffer Ajer, it will be for £50m, for sure.
‘Because the clubs in England are crazy at the moment, paying so much money for the best talent.
‘A Premier League club coming up to Scotland, I think it starts at £30m and goes up to £50m.
‘If he went to Italy or Germany, maybe he won’t get the same price. But look at the Premier League players who have cost their clubs that much — Kris is as good as them.
‘I also think the impression of Scottish football has grown, which means clubs in England will be willing to pay.
‘I remember everyone used to say: “Ah, Scottish football, it’s not so good”.
‘There was always the idea that good players in Scotland couldn’t make the switch to England’s top division.
‘But I go right back to Henrik Larsson. When he left Celtic and went to Barcelona, everybody said he wouldn’t play there.
‘Not only was he brilliant at Barca, he also went to Manchester United and proved how good he was.
‘So Henrik Larsson opened the gates for other players like Virgil van Dijk. English clubs now know that there is talent there.
‘Even though AC Milan have been mentioned a few times now, I think the most likely interest is coming from the Premier League.
‘In Norway, everyone loves the Premier League — and every player has the ambition to go and play in England. It’s the dream to play there.
‘The Bundesliga is also very popular. But England is the No 1 choice for Norwegian players, because of the connection, the culture, the history of our players doing well there.’
Ajer’s progress through the ranks at Celtic hasn’t been all smooth and steady. Which possibly makes his eventual rise to key figure all the more impressive.
Signed by Ronny Deila on a pre-contract from Norwegian side Start, his arrival in the summer of 2016 saw him dropped into a difficult situation.
Brendan Rodgers had just arrived at Celtic and, to be blunt, few thought there would be room in his grand plans for a relatively unknown teenager signed by his predecessor.
During that first Rodgers pre-season, Ajer looked and sounded exactly as anyone might have predicted.
Sure, there was an oddity value in the fact that he was studying medicine, something he eventually dropped to focus on football.
But the overall impression was of a slightly built youngster who described himself as a central midfielder. You certainly wouldn’t have deployed him at centre-half without adding a couple of stone to his slender frame. When he went out to Kilmarnock on loan in January of 2017, few predicted that he’d return to become such an important member of the Celtic first team.
It still took time for Ajer to develop, to cut out the mistakes — most of them — that had coaches, team-mates and supporters tearing their hair out.
As he became one of the mainstays in Neil Lennon’s first full season back as boss, though, just about everyone with a knowledge of Norwegian football simply nodded. Finally, the Scots had recognised this towering talent in their midst.
Addressing the back story of a player now placed alongside Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Odegaard as the future of the national team, Riseth told
Sportsmail: ‘Everybody back here has been talking about Kris for years now.
‘When he played in Norway, he was one of the biggest talents. But, when he signed for Celtic, we all knew it was going to take a few years for him to show his quality.
‘He was just a skinny kid who needed to build more power on his body to compete against men.
‘But everyone in Norway knew what a great signing he was for Celtic — one for the future, someone they could build a team around.
‘After he went on loan, he came back and played regularly, of course. Last season, he was really impressive.
‘In Norway now, there are all sorts of rumours about where he might go next, because we know many clubs are interested in him.
‘But I think Kristoffer is so happy at Celtic that he will stay. The last time I was in Glasgow, I had a good chat with him.
‘He said he was really, really happy, that he loved the football, the club, the city.
‘So I actually think he’s going to sign a new deal with Celtic. I mean, you never know. But he’s definitely content there.