KRISTOFFER Ajer has told Kieran Tierney that his Celtic team-mates are desperate for him to stay at the club as Everton get set to step up their interest in the player.
The English Premier League side’s new manager Marco Silva has already held talks with numerous players he inherited from Sam Allardyce as he tries to free up space for new recruits, with Wayne Rooney and Ramiro Funes Mori already moving on.
Everton return to pre-season training this morning, and they have earmarked Tierney as an ideal replacement for veteran left-back Leighton Baines, with a bid in the region of £25m expected to arrive from the Goodison Park side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has already admitted that it would be hard for him to advise his player not to jump at such an opportunity, but Ajer hopes that the Scottish champions can rebuff any approach from suitors of the 21-year-old.
The Norwegian centre-back admits though that interest in luring Tierney away from Celtic is inevitable given his ability.
“I’m not surprised,” said Ajer. “KT has been fantastic and has really helped me a lot coming into the group. He’s just a fantastic full-back. It’s just fantastic to play with him.
“He’s a massive Celtic fan so it’s really nice to see. He knows a lot about the club and its history. It’s just nice to see such a big Celtic fan playing for the team.
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“When you play for Celtic, do well and have won the treble twice, there is always going to be interest in you. But when you play for such a massive club as Celtic, it’s a fantastic place to be. For me to be able to sign a new contract at such a club was fantastic.
“He’s been tremendous for us for us and has proved himself over a number of seasons. Yes of course we are desperate for this group to stay together. KT is an important player in the squad and we want him to stay.”
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