The Player Profile: Kolbeinn Sigthorsson of Ajax

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson is a 23-year-old striker from Reykjavik. He signed for the Amsterdam club in the summer of 2011 for around €4.5 million from fellow Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar. He attracted the attention of Ajax after scoring 18 goals in just 43 games in his inaugural season in the Dutch league, and has since worked his way into the top frame over the course of the past three seasons.

Let me guess: A cheesy back story too?

There usually is. Because of Iceland's tiny population, Sigthorsson has been a relatively well known boy on the island since primary school and has spoken about his troubles growing up with this fame.

As the son of a baker, the Icelandic international has had people seeking autographs since he was 10 years old and took solace in his older brother Andri - another wonder-kid who moved to Munich to play for Bayern before a career-ending injury - who is now his agent.

In a recent interview with a local paper, he spoke about a tough injury he picked up at Ajax and how his brother had to convince him that it wasn't a career-threatening problem.

This player has had the weight of a nation on his shoulders since he can remember, and it hasn't always been pretty.

And why is he so special?

Sigthorsson is a pure goal scorer in every sense of the word. Despite missing half of last season with a serious injury, he still managed to score 13 goals in 27 games, and has added to that tally this season with six goals in 13 appearances.

Comparisons with his compatriot Eidur Gudjohnsen will always be inevitable, but not inaccurate, given how Sigthorsson plays his football.

His goal for Iceland in the 1-1 draw against Norway on Tuesday night secured second place place in Group E and was enough to put his nation through to the World Cup play-offs and be potentially the smallest country ever to take part.

He's also started every game for Ajax this year and is undoubtedly their key man up front.

Just a poacher, then?

No. He isn't short of confidence and like any player who's deemed good enough to play up front for Ajax, he thrives on his all-round ability to score goals. Putting the ball in the net is his main job, but Neil Lennon will be wary of his ability to wrestle past defenders with an abundance of speed and skill. This is no one-trick-pony, and the likes of Efe Ambrose and Virgil van Dijk must be wary of that.

Yikes, how do Lennon's men stop him?

Not easily. Yet fortunately for Celtic, neither Ajax nor Sigthorsson have managed to acclimatise to the Champions League this season and as of yet the striker hasn't look himself.

In the opening game against Barcelona, in which Ajax lost 4-0, Frank de Boer opted to start the forward on the right-hand side of the front three where he offered very little aside from a poor penalty miss.

Even in the second fixture against Milan, a more balanced affair which Ajax drew 1-1, and in which Sigthorsson played in his preferred role as striker, he offered very little against the Italians.

If the Icelandic international has yet to adjust to playing in the big pressure games, Celtic Park may be slightly uncomfortable for him.

Will he stay at Ajax?

Probably not. This young striker has had the eyes of Europe's largest clubs fixed on his talent ever since he started his career back in Iceland, where Real Madrid and Arsenal were reported to be interested in his signature right until the day he signed for Ajax, with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle not far behind.

Like so many before him at Ajax, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson is a talented youngster who is in the process of being trained and fitted to become a world beater.

Next Tuesday, he will walk on to Celtic Park just two weeks after the likes of Neymar and Andres Iniesta had strutted their stuff for Barcelona, with the intention of one day matching their skills.

Let's just hope that day doesn't come too soon for Celtic and their Champions League ambitions.