The news today that two of the biggest clubs in Germany – Leverkusen and Leipzig – are set to enter the bidding for Ajer is a clear signal that he is rated across Europe and not just by that handful of clubs in England who are often linked with his signature.
I didn’t think we’d get an auction for Ajer.
I thought he’d move to one of those English clubs and that we would get around £8 million for him.
That sounds conservative now, with the chances high that we can secure an eight figure sum, perhaps even closer to the £12 million that was being touted as his asking price not that long ago.
As fans, we don’t want to lose our good players, but we know Ajer is not going to stay as he’s already made that clear in public and in private. The best you can do is get a decent fee for them and we now stand a very good chance of doing exactly that.
The money will be there for the new manager to spend; that much now appears certain.
Between Ajer, Edouard, Ntcham and others we’ll be able to put some serious resources at Postecoglou’s disposal, and with a huge rebuilding job in front of us sooner would be better in terms of when we get started on it.
But the funds will be there.
Edouard was being linked to Leicester of course, but it looks as if that deal is in bother.
They are about to announce a couple of signings and sources down south claim that negotiations between their club and our club are ongoing … but we want more than they are willing to pay and so we are holding on for the fee we deserve.
This is interesting because a number of clubs are interested in Edouard, but have stepped off because the move to Leicester looked like a done deal.
If there’s doubt about that, we will find ourselves getting an auction over him as well … which could put even more money at the manager’s disposal of course, although there’s a whopping sell-on clause involved here too.
We’d all like to see players coming in – those are the developments we’re all really waiting for right now – but it’s equally important to keep an eye on the outgoings.
No Celtic fan wants to see the club register these guys for Europe; they have made their feelings clear and they should be shipped out the door before Postecoglou even arrives at the club.