Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has worked with a number of brilliantly talented stars at Parkhead throughout his two spells in charge in Glasgow.
Matt O’Riley is the latest player to have been sold for big money under his management, following the midfielder’s £25m+ move to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Danish wizard, who produced 18 goals and 13 assists in the Scottish Premiership last term, earned a move to England due to his superb performances under Rodgers last season.
He is not the only Celtic star to have earned a big move after working with the Northern Irishman at Parkhead, though, as Kristoffer Ajer is another player who thrived under him.
Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer masterclass
The central defender arrived at Paradise in the same summer as Rodgers in 2016, in a £650k deal from IK Start in Norway, as an 18-year-old prospect.
Ajer was initially sent out on loan to play 17 times for Kilmarnock in the 2016/17 campaign before returning to compete for a place in the first-team.
The 6 foot 6 colossus went on to make 66 appearances under Rodgers at Parkhead and racked up 176 games in total for the club, as he remained in Glasgow after the manager’s move to Leicester City in 2019.
In the summer of 2021, Brentford swooped in to sign the Norwegian star for £13.5m, which shows that Rodgers and the Hoops played a masterclass with him, as they turned a £650k-rated teenager into a multi-million-pound sale.
Rodgers could now repeat that trick by unearthing Dane Murray, who is currently out on loan at Queen’s Park, as his next version of Ajer at Parkhead.
Why Dane Murray could be Kristoffer Ajer 2.0
The 6 foot 3 giant initially emerged as a first-team option for Ange Postecoglou in the 2021/22 campaign before suffering a serious knee injury that has stunted his development.
Murray played 165 minutes against FC Midtjylland across two Champions League qualifiers under the Australian head coach and caught the eye with his performances.
2021/22 CL qualifiers | Dane Murray | Percentile rank vs centre-backs |
|---|---|---|
Pass accuracy | 82% | Top 20.3% |
Successful dribbles per 90 | 0.55 | Top 5.8% |
Tackles won per 90 | 1.64 | Top 3.6% |
Aerial duel success rate | 81.8% | Top 4.3% |
Interceptions per 90 | 3.82 | Top 1.4% |
Ball recoveries per 90 | 6.0 | Top 12.3% |
As you can see in the table above, the teenager ranked highly among his positional peers in the competition in a host of defensive and possession-based statistics, including his aerial dominance.
Unfortunately, his injury issues have prevented him from kicking on since then but the central defender, now 21, joined Queen’s Park on loan this summer and looks to be getting back to his old self.
The Scotland U21 international has already made four appearances for the second tier outfit this season and has been described as a player with “real potential” by manager Callum Davidson.
Ajer also had to go out on loan early on in his Celtic career before establishing himself as a colossal figure at the back under Rodgers and Murray could be unearthed in a similar fashion, if he can go on to enjoy a stellar season with Queen’s Park before returning to Parkhead next term.
He has already shown his quality at Champions League level in the past and could emerge as a first-team option for Rodgers in the future if the Scottish titan can get back to those levels after his injury issues.
