Celtic have made a number of brilliant signings in recent years. Names like Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, and several others come to mind immediately. But as is the nature of football, there are a number of moves that have not quite worked as well.
One such transfer was the one for Albian Ajeti, as it is believed that Celtic shelled out a transfer fee in the region of £5 million to sign him from West Ham United, even though he had failed to score a single goal for the Hammers.
Ajeti’s time at Celtic Park did not turn out much better either. While he showed glimpses of his ability on occasion, ultimately, he never really established himself as a starter for the club and currently finds himself out on loan at Austrian club Sturm Graz, who are believed to have an option to buy included in the deal.
Despite his struggles at Celtic, Ajeti does not have anything negative to say about the club or the fans though. As reported by Football Scotland, the Swiss striker said:
"“Listen, I can’t say anything bad about the club, the history, the fans, my teammates. To be honest, I’m very sad that it just didn’t work out as I hoped for.“I tried very hard, I’ve been working very hard during my time at Celtic. This is football. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I had to accept it, it wasn’t easy, it was very tough.“Honestly, I don’t have any regrets at all. I will just look back and say it was unfortunate that it didn’t work out as they and I hoped for. It’s a special club, it’s a very special club, I know that.”"
The striker makes classy Celtic claim despite his struggles at Parkhead
It goes without saying that those are classy comments from Ajeti. Of course, there is still a chance that he could potentially end up back at Celtic, if Sturm Graz do not take up the option to sign him permanently.
Interestingly, Ajeti had actually enjoyed a hot start at Celtic, scoring his first five league goals at a rate of a strike every 47 minutes.
He would end up suffering an injury while scoring the fifth one though and while it was not a serious issue, it did derail his momentum and Ajeti never rediscovered his form again. It’s sad how it turned out for him at Celtic and we can only wish him the best moving forward.