Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish has recently tipped Kris Ajer to leave Celtic for a fee of £5 million to £10 million.
Ajer was recently linked with a move to Newcastle United and it was stated that the Magpies were ready to launch a bid of around £8 million in the summer. McLeish has now valued the Norwegian at a similar price.
Ajer could be a 'good' signing for Newcastle
McLeish was recently having a chat with Football Insider and he gave his views about Ajer and his potential move to the Premier League.
McLeish made it clear that the Norwegian would be a good signing for the Magpies and for a Premier League side, he could be available for £5-10million in the summer. He compared the defender to Jean-Alain Boumsong, for whom Rangers earned a fee of £8million.
He stated: “Kristoffer Ajer would be a good addition for Newcastle. What sort of fee? Premier League, we’re talking £5-10million.
“I had Jean-Alain Boumsong, got him on a free transfer from Auxerre. He was only with us six, seven months and he went to Newcastle. Rangers made £8million out of him.
“In terms of Ajer, Scandinavia is a great breeding ground. They have some gems in there, some diamonds. Finding those diamonds results in an Ajer. You see how well Scandinavians do in these World Cup groups."
The 22-year-old Ajer has been a regular for the Bhoys this season, making 41 appearances in all competitions and playing 31 times in the league (as per Transfermarkt).
Celtic can't afford to lose Ajer
Shane Duffy is at Celtic only on loan from Brighton and Christopher Jullien could be out of action for an extended period of time as well, as he's currently nursing a serious knee injury.
Hatem Abd Elhamed already left in the winter, leaving the Hoops short at the back if they allow Ajer to go as well.
Celtic wouldn't want to be heading into next season completely depleted in the defensive positions, requiring the new manager to undertake a total rebuild at the back, so they should do everything in their power to convince Ajer to stay at least one more year.
In other news, 'It'd be the wrong decision' - Pundit delivers honest verdict on John Kennedy's Celtic future - read more here.