GiveMeSport
·24 June 2022
GiveMeSport
·24 June 2022
Celtic would “very much” entertain offers for striker Albian Ajeti this summer, according to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph.
The Switzerland international became one of the Hoops’ more expensive signings when he made the £5m switch from West Ham in 2020, but he has failed to live up to expectations at Parkhead.
A long-term hamstring injury might have brought a premature end to Ajeti’s 2021-2022 season, forcing him to miss more than six months in total, but even before his spell on the sidelines, he wasn’t exactly pulling up trees.
Initially, Ajeti enjoyed a dream start to life in Glasgow, scoring in five of his first six Premiership appearances. But he’s found the net just twice in the league across the last 21 months, while his overall record for the Hoops stands at an underwhelming nine goals in 48 appearances.
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Ajeti still has two years remaining on his Parkhead contract, but Joseph reckons that should Celtic receive an appropriate offer, they’d be willing to move him on.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “Ajeti has just not worked out. He signed for £4.5m in the Covid season, he was living in a hotel, not really settling in at Celtic and hasn’t been able to set the world alight under Ange Postecoglou.
“He probably doesn’t fit into the way Postecoglou wants to play and unless he has a really good pre-season, which could happen, if they were to get a loan offer with an option to buy, Celtic would very much entertain that.”
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Injuries have generally overshadowed Ajeti’s time in Scotland, but even before his layoff, besides a flurry of goals when he first got into the team, he’s shown little to suggest that he’s going to be a success at the club.
Celtic aren’t exactly overloaded with centre forwards, but they have several players in their squad capable of playing through the middle, so selling Ajeti wouldn’t exactly be a loss to Ange Postecoglou.
Since Ajeti last played competitively for the Hoops, they’ve signed Daizen Maeda, who’s more than capable of playing up front, while Kyogo Furuhashi has returned from a long-term injury, so with Celtic already proving they can cope without him, he could be moved on this summer.