Celtic aiming to oust Euro giants for transfer of 21 y/o 'artist' as ex-Parkhead hero told 'find a new club'
Celtic have been linked with an in demand winger.
Celtic are hoping to beat off competition from a number of clubs on the continent to sign highly-rated youngster Sondre Ørjasæter this summer, with a new report claiming they have opened talks with Sarpsborg 08 over his transfer.
The 21-year-old left-winger is believed to be a long term target for Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers, with reports in January stating they had a saw a bid of £4.6million rejected by the Eliteserien outfit in January 2025. It is understood the Norwegian side are looking for a fee in the region of £7million to allow him to leave, though.
Linked with Fiorentina, Nice and Red Bull Salzburg, the Norway under-21 international will be in demand this summer after catching the eye of several European clubs over the last 12 months. Used as an inverted winger at the Sarpsborg Stadion, he is considered one of the country’s most exciting young talents, with Norwegian TV pundit and former international striker Håvard Flo describing him as “an artist.”
Ørjasæter agreed a new four-year-deal at Sarpsborg as recently as October, and seemed delighted to commit his future to the club, saying: “I’m having a fantastic time. There’s nothing to complain about. It’s a great group, good coaches. I’m really enjoying myself at Sarpsborg 08.”
However, a fresh report from Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claims that Celtic are hoping to prize the winger away from Sarpsborg this summer, saying the Scottish champions have “reopened talks over a potential deal”, adding that they will “face competition from clubs in Germany and The Netherlands, but no concrete offers are on the table as things stand.”
Elsewhere, Celtic’s title winner former centre-back Kristoffer Ajer has been told to ‘find a new club’ by international head coach Stale Solbakken after falling out of favour at Brentford following an injury-hit campaign.
The Norway international spent four trophy laden seasons at Celtic Park, winning four Scottish Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups, before he was prized away by the Bees for a fee of £13million in the summer of 2021.
He has gone on to be a pivotal figure for Thomas Frank’s side as they’ve established themselves in the top flight, but has found himself restricted to appearances in an unfamiliar position of right-back over the last 12 months, leading for calls from his international manager to switch clubs this summer.
“He can be a very good and stable centre-back, and he was today, but he has to change clubs," said Solbakken. “He cannot play right-back in every third game if he is to be a proper, safe and good centre-back. Because he has all the prerequisites.”
"I think Ajer would have been better suited to playing centre-back in another league. He has had some tough injuries in England. He will never be a super right-back, at the same level as he is as a centre-back. At the age he is now, I think he is allowed to put his foot down. You can’t be a ‘cover’ right-back at his age now.
"Many people get angry with me when I say things like that publicly, but I think we should be a little honest about it. Not that I’m going to interfere with Brentford selling him, but he’s at an age and is a type of player who can develop into a very stable, good defender at a high level."
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