The highly-rated Norwegian defender is off to the Premier League as Celtic cash in
Celtic and Kristoffer Ajer have parted ways as the player was sold to newly-promoted side Brentford for £13.5 million. Ajer had been with Celtic since 2016 and was highly rated, with interest from several top clubs, including AC Milan. In the end, he was signed by Brentford, who are looking to stay in the Premier League after being promoted to the competition for the first time.
Celtic were without Ajer for their recent Champions League qualifier against FC Midtjylland and will now be looking for a suitable replacement in defence. Interestingly, Midtjylland and Brentford are sister clubs, with both teams sharing owners and a similar approach to how they scout and sign players. Brentford have been employing a stats-based method of signing new players since 2012 and have gone from the third tier of English football to the Premier League in ten seasons.
The owner of Brentford, Matthew Benham, is an Oxford physics graduate, and many consider him to be the smartest man in football. He made his fortune in sports betting, establishing a statistical model that was able to gain an edge over bookmakers. You can focus on minimum deposit casino sites if you want to have a chance of success when gambling online.
Why Did Brentford Choose Kristoffer Ajer
Brentford use statistical modelling to evaluate individual players and choose those that fit their system best. This approach seems to be working as the club has risen from league two to the Premier League, all while making a net profit on transfers.
Kristoffer Ajer was chosen specifically because he fit the mould of the kind of defender that Brentford head coach, Thomas Frank, was looking for. Frank has the following to say about Ajer, who made just over 100 appearances for Celtic.
"We wanted to get another central defender in, and Kris was our first choice. We think he fits the position-specific profile perfectly, especially on the ball.
"Kris is very composed and can find the right passes between the lines. His level when bringing the ball forward is very high. "As a defender, he has the physicality that you need, and he won his duels when he played in the Scottish league. He can help us in both boxes, with his strength in the air.
"He is a player at a good age, and we think he comes straight in and be ready to perform in the Premier League. But he also fits the way we want to recruit players and work with them".
Parallels have been drawn between Ajer and Van Dijk, who signed for Southampton from Celtic back in 2015 before going on to become one of the Premier League's best defenders. Of course, Ajer has a long way to go before such comparisons can be made, but Brentford fans will no doubt be hoping he can have a similar effect on their team.
Who Will Celtic Sign as a Replacement?
While Celtic will be disappointed to lose a young defender who has shown a lot of promise, the fee they received was sufficient and could potentially rise higher with bonuses. It seems as though the team already have a replacement for Ajer, as they completed the signing of Swedish centre-back Carl Starfelt on the 21st of July.
Signed from Russian Premier Liga side Rubin Kazan, Starfelt is expected to play a big role in Celtic's upcoming season. He's a few years older than Ajer and while he might have been signed from the Russian League, he clearly has a lot of quality and can also play at right back if needed.