CELTIC have stepped up their January recruitment drive by inviting 17-year-old Norwegian wonderkid Kristoffer Ajer to Lennoxtown for a one-week trial.
The 6ft 5in midfielder, part of Norway's Under-21 squad, already has 43 appearances under his belt for Start, scoring nine goals, and becoming the youngest captain in the history of the Tippeligaen during a match against his former team Lillestrom this season.
Having flown from Kjevik via Amsterdam, he arrived in Glasgow last night and is expected at first-team training at Lennoxtown on Wednesday.
The player has one year remaining on his current deal, but Start could be prepared to let him go to his countryman Ronny Deila during this window for the right money.
"Kristoffer has been allowed to visit Celtic," confirmed Start director Even Bransdal. "We got a call from Celtic, and decided that Ajer deserved to get the chance."
Celtic could also land defensive target Aleksandar Pantic this month – but have been told they won't get him on the cheap. The 23-year-old Serb, who is on a season-long loan at Eibar from fellow Spanish outfit Villarreal, impressed the watching Deila during Sunday's 4-0 La Liga win against Real Betis.
While Celtic have yet to formally approach Villarreal or discuss terms with the player, they are understood to be interested in a player whose progress is also being monitored by a couple of clubs in both Spain and England.
Although the 6ft 1in defender, who joined Villarreal from Red Star Belgrade in 2013, is ostensibly on a season-long loan, Herald Sport understands that a mechanism exists whereby the player could be recalled this month and sold if a suitable deal can be agreed.
Any deal is unlikely to be cheap, however, with the player having signed an extension to his original three-year deal with parent club Villarreal when he went on loan to Cordoba last year. Pantic shares an agent with Jozo Simunovic and the prospect of the Serbian-Croatian stablemates playing together at the heart of Celtic's problem back four is an appealing one.
January promises to be a busy time for the Parkhead club, who were also linked yesterday with no fewer than three exotic attacking options. On target during Eibar's 4-0 win at Betis was Borja Gonzalez, a 6ft 3in Spanish striker, on-loan from Atletico Madrid, who was previously the golden boot at the European Under-19 championships, while the club has also been linked with his strike partner Sergi Enrich, formerly of Real Mallorca. Extravagantly talented South Korean forward Hyun-Jun Suk is another man reportedly on the club's shortlist.
First, though, Celtic take on Stranraer in the Scottish Cup at Stair Park this Saturday with the League One side's assistant manager Lee Mair backing his team-mates to do everything in their power to stop the Parkhead side completing a treble, just as his St Mirren side did in the League Cup semi-final in 2012-13.
"We have got a good squad, boys who have played full time football, played in the Premier League and played against Celtic. We are massive underdogs, for us to get anything we need Celtic to have a massive off day and us to have a real on day. But this is football and anything can happen."
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