‘Skilful’ 23-year-old says he ‘deserved to play more’ at West Ham, tipped to star at his new club

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Following his switch from West Ham to Celtic, Albian Ajeti has claimed that he “deserved to play more” for the Hammers but is “happy now” at Parkhead and looking forward to getting started.

Ajeti joined West Ham last summer for a reported £8million following an impressive stint at FC Basel, where he registered 43 goals and 21 assists.

He helped his club win three league titles and a Swiss cup, and had featured in European matches, so there were high hopes for him at the London Stadium.

However, Ajeti ended up making just 12 competitive appearances for West Ham, didn’t start one Premier League game, and failed to register a goal or assist in claret and blue.

Now, the 23-year-old has joined Celtic for a reported £5million, and speaking to the press at his unveiling, he made his feelings clear about his time at West Ham.

“Yes, to be fair I deserved to play more, I don’t need to hide that,” Ajeti is quoted by Sky Sports as saying. “I deserved that. But this is football, this is how it is.

“I am really happy now. What is gone is gone and I am looking forward now. I just think I need to play and this is why I signed for Celtic.

“I had a good chat with the gaffer, Neil Lennon, and the sporting director, they really wanted me and this was the most important thing because the first season I had in West Ham was clear for me; I need to play and I am really looking forward to playing with Celtic.”

Former Basel ace Beni Huggel has already tipped Ajeti to be a success at Celtic, telling the Glasgow Times: “Albian is a skilful guy. He has a lot of determination and a good mindset.  He always wants to win, always wants to get the most he can out of a game.

“He plays with a lot of emotion. When he was at Basel the fans loved him because he always gave the impression of giving everything that he had for the team. He had a great attitude. I think the Celtic supporters will like him.”

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Upon leaving West Ham and joining Celtic, a number of Hammers fans took to Twitter to voice their disappointment at barely giving him a chance in claret and blue before selling him at a loss.

While Ajeti is now off the wage bill, there seems to be a sense of what could have been, and while not all fans were sad to see him go, there would be questions asked of the West Ham contingent if he were to return to his prolific best north of the border.