Celtic the real winners from Ajer exit as 'attitude' problem highlighted - Alan Hutton
Kristoffer Ajer's £17.5million exit to Brentford is "perfect" for Celtic - but the player may have preferred a more illustrious destination.
So says ex-Rangers right-back Alan Hutton, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after Celtic confirmed the 23-year-old's departure on 21st July.
This site revealed earlier that day that Ajer passed his Brentford medical after Celtic negotiated a £13.5m fee topped up by over £4m in add-ons.
Ajer went on-record as wanting to leave Parkhead at the start of 2020-21 and was linked heavily with Serie A giants AC Milan.
But that move never materialised and Hutton argues Celtic got good value for money from Ajer's switch to Premier League new boys Brentford.
"I think the fee is probably about right," he told Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge.
"We know he's a good player, he's shown that in the past. With everything that's gone, attitude-wise, he's probably not ideal.
"But we were talking about AC Milan not that long ago. He might have fancied it there.
"That's no disrespect to Brentford. They are a good team that's now in the Premier League and play good football under a good manager.
"Ideally, you have to say it is a good move for them. But you have to say that they are probably going to be one of the favourites to get relegated. That's the swing of it.
"But for Celtic moving forward, it's the perfect move if they can reinvest that money moving forward.
"I've watched a few of their games. They've got a sprinkle of first-team players and a lot of youth. I'm not sure that's going to be enough to be able to challenge Rangers."