John Kennedy drops hint about Kris Ajer’s Celtic exit

Next summer will be one of change for Celtic as one of its mist successful eras well and truly comes to a close, and the club will now have to focus on rebuilding the squad and hopefully challenge for the Scottish title next season.

A number of players are expected to leave Parkhead over the next few months. While Odsonne Edouard has managed to grab all the headlines regarding the matter of an exit, Kris Ajer might follow him out of the door as well and his departure could have as big of an impact as that of the Frenchman.

Ajer has easily been the best defender for the club this season. But with a little over a year left on his current deal, the Hoops might have no other choice but to allow him to leave, if they are unable to agree a new contract with the Norwegian.

And while John Kennedy did not talk too much about the player’s contract situation, it did not sound like he was too confident about the Norwegian staying beyond this campaign. As reported by The Scotsman, he said:

"“I’ve no doubt that there will be interest in him. He’s still very young and he’s an international player. With his profile of speed, size, technique and ability – there’s going to be interest in him. When that comes it’ll be the club and Kris himself making that decision. It’s important for the club going forward to keep players like him. But it’s a two-way thing of the player having that commitment contractually as well.“We’ve got boys here like [Scott] Brown and [Callum] McGregor who know the club inside out, enjoy being here and have an affiliation with Celtic. They’re happy here and content, they want to maximise the time they have. But other players as we’ve seen in the past, come in, do well for the club – but if it makes sense for the club from a business perspective and the player sees his future elsewhere, naturally things change. But that’s not just at Celtic, that’s at every club.”"

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Ajer leaving will be a huge blow for Celtic

In a season where the Hoops have struggled in defence, Ajer has been the only player in the backline who has managed to show some consistency and form. As a result, it will be a massive blow if he does end up leaving. Especially, with Shane Duffy expected to leave as well and Christopher Jullien set to spend a long time on the sidelines.

Thus, the club could be left scrambling for options. Although, the Norwegian could bring in a massive transfer fee, which will go a long way in the club’ rebuilding process.

As a result, while Ajer leaving is not a positive, if they are unable to agree a new contract with him, it is better to let him go next summer than to risk losing him for completely free a year later.