TBR View: Kristoffer Ajer might have just played himself into an AC Milan move

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Celtic lost 3-1 to AC Milan in the Europa League last night and, despite a late rally, it was a fair result for the Italian side who were the better team on the day. 

The Bhoys simply struggled to impose any attacking threat on the Rossoneri, who claimed a vital win in Glasgow. 

But there were some impressive individual performances from Celtic players, especially from Norwegian defender Kristoffer Ajer. 

He put in a solid display at the back, helping to nullify the threat of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in one of his best performances of the season so far. 

It had some cynical Celtic fans on Twitter wondering if the reason for his improved display was simply to put himself in the shop window against a side who have openly courted his services for months. 

Ajer has been linked with a move to Milan throughout the year and Milan manager Stefano Pioli openly admitted to tracking the player in the summer when asked this week. 

Tuttosport reported in July, as relayed by the Daily Record, that Celtic wanted £27 million for Ajer, a price too rich for the Italians. 

But Gianluca Di Marzio reported last month that Milan preferred an initial loan deal leading to a £15 million deal. That proved not to be the case and Celtic would undoubtedly be looking for a fee closer to the initially mentioned figure if they were to sell their defender to Milan anytime in the future.  

But this display will not have helped Celtic’s cause, with Milan likely to have been impressed by the player and there is every chance they will now be considering revisiting the negotiating table come January.

It could be that Ajer has just played himself into an exit this summer, should Celtic and Milan find the goldilocks price between £15 and £27 million this winter.