Kristoffer Ajer turned his attention to UEFA Champions League football yesterday afternoon as he signed a four-year deal with Celtic following his £500k move from Norway after impressing on a January trial with the Scottish champions. The 17-year-old will return to his homeland today in order to prepare for the start of the Norwegian season with IK Start with whom he will remain until June but the midfielder plans on declaring himself ready for top level football upon his return to Glasgow.

The 6ft 5 in inch holding player appears to be the natural successor to Nir Bitton who has been linked with a move to the Barclays Premier League and Ajer is keen to make a lasting impression when he hooks up with Ronny Deila’s side this summer.

Ajer was the youngster player to captain a Norwegian top flight team when he was named skipper of IK Start at just 16 and while he is regarded as one for the future by Celtic, the player himself is confident he will be in contention to play a significant role in the first XI next season.

“I hope I will still learn a lot there so I will be ready for the Champions League qualifiers,” he said with regard to his return to Start for the beginning of the Tippeligaen next month. “It should be absolutely perfect and then I will come here. Celtic is such a big club that they must be in the Champions League, so that’s what I will try for.”

The teenager will leave behind his girlfriend, Karoline Olsen, as she pursues a promising handball career but he will be accompanied to Glasgow by his parents, Jan Tore and Randi as he settles into a new club and a different culture this summer.

The 17-year-old cut a composed and self-assured figure as he chatted comfortably to the media yesterday afternoon but the reality of the pressures which come with the club may take some time to register. Certainly, though, Ajer appears as though he will not struggle with self-belief as he looks to make an immediate impact on the club.

Despite his relative inexperience he insisted that he will not shy away from making his voice heard in a dressing room full of established internationalists. “I was comfortable as a captain,” said Ajer. “I have always been captain in youth teams and it was a huge experience for me. I was grateful the manager gave me the role.

“To be honest, I look at myself as a captain whether I have the role or not because I always scream and demand everything from me and the rest of the players. I’m not scared of saying this is me and this is what I stand for. Now I have to prove myself good enough and I am not going to hide behind the rest of the squad.”

Like his fellow countryman, Martin Odegaard, Ajer will feel the weight of expectation coming from Norway as they keep a close eye on his development. Odegaard has struggled to impose himself at Real Madrid, understandable given the magnitude of the names barring his path to the first-team, but Ajer, who grew up modelling himself on YouTube footage of former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Viera, earned some early brownie points with the Celtic support when he maintained that the Parkhead club provides an equally significant step up.

“I don’t look at Celtic as a middle step,” he said. “I look at Celtic as a really big club. A place where, yeah, I want to play and I see an opportunity here. We are a small country so we don’t have a lot of football players. The pressure we put on ourselves is more than what we get from the media. We enjoy playing football and that is what we have done for so many years and hopefully for so many future years.”

The next few months will be spent completing schoolwork and passing his driving test, but Ajer will continue his education next season as he liaises with his school while also striving to make a claim on the Celtic first-team.

Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, Hertha Berlin and Liverpool were credited with an interest in the player in the build-up to his move to Celtic but it was the reputation of Ronny Deila and his development of young players that helped to cement the move to Glasgow. Not that Ajer expects any favours in return.

“Ronny said Celtic is the perfect club for me to come to,” he said. “It’s possible for me to play here, but of course he told me I had to prove myself good enough. You have to be good in training and good when you get the opportunities in matches. Of course I am a part of the squad. But it’s my choice now whether I want to take the opportunity or I don’t.

“The most important thing was Celtic. It was the club I wanted to join and being able to do that is just amazing. First of all Celtic is one of the biggest clubs in the world. You see the fans and you see the atmosphere here in Glasgow. I came to train with the players and everyone was so warm with me. I just felt home here.”