ALBIAN AJETI has scored three goals in seven domestic games on loan at Austrian club Sturm Graz.
That equals his record for Celtic last season when the Swiss striker netted a double in a 3-0 Premiership win over Ross County at Parkhead and a single in the 4-3 Europa League loss to Real Betis in Seville.
The previous campaign saw him claim six following his £5million summer switch from West Ham in the disastrous crusade that saw Neil Lennon lose his job and the team limp in without silverware for the first time in 11 years.
DOWN AND OUT…Albian Ajeti reflects on a miss against Dundee United in the 1-1 draw at Parkhead last season.
Ajeti failed miserably to provide the goals that would have boosted the historic 10-in-a-row quest and was an unconvincing figure in most of his appearances in the first team.
Ange Postecoglou immediately beefed up Celtic’s faltering striking department when he was named Lennon’s successor in June last year and brought in Kyogo Furuhashi, a £4.6million purchase from J-League club Vissel Kobe, and Giorgos Giakoumakis, a bargain £2.5million arrival from Dutch minnows VVV-Venlo.
Ajeti’s days were numbered after a handful of outings, but it appears the 25-year-old international frontman has had a new lease of life in Austria – and that can only be good news for the champions.
The forward is under contract at Parkhead until June 30 2024 and is believed to be one of the best-paid players at the club.
HAPPIER TIMES…Albian Ajeti points to the Sturm Graz badge after scoring a goal for the Austran club.
He agreed a lucrative deal to leave England’s top flight where he was obviously surplus to requirements from unimpressed ex-Celt Davie Moyes, the London club’s manager who had inherited the player signed by his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini.
There is NO way back for Ajeti at Celtic and if he continues to score goals and show good form at Sturm Graz there is every chance the move will become permanent.
The Hoops will not recoup the original £5million fee they splashed on a striker who never even got into double figures in two years, but they can maybe expect half of that amount with the cash going to Postecoglou to continue strengthening the squad.
Ajeti’s best work as a Celtic player has come outside Parkhead.
