Celtic are back to square one in their hopes of selling Albian Ajeti with Sturm Graz confirming that they will not be taking up the £2 million purchase clause in the striker’s contract.
Last summer, two players who set the Scottish Premiership champions back around £5 million each both left Parkhead in pursuit of a fresh start out on loan.
But while Celtic’s forgotten man Vasilis Barkas has managed to rebuild his reputation in the Eredivisie – finishing third in FC Utrecht’s Player of the Year poll – there was to be no such success for Albian Ajeti over in Austria.
Once a prolific marksman at Basel, Ajeti managed just four goals in 23 games at Sturm Graz. And, following concerns over the injury issues which limited his impact, Sturm director Andreas Schicker has now confirmed the inevitable.
Albian Ajeti is returning to Celtic
“Albian Ajeti will leave Graz,” Schicker tells the Kronen Zeitung. “We have decided not to exercise the option-to-buy (clause) with Celtic.
“Although Albian is an exciting player, he unfortunately didn’t get into the rhythm he had hoped for. And the transfer fee was too high.”
Signed from West Ham United back in 2020; Ajeti fell out of favour under Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead following the arrivals of Giorgios Giakoumakis and the outstanding Kyogo Furuhashi. The Hoops also snapped up South Korea international Oh Hyeon-Gyu in January. Celtic now reportedly have their sights fixed on the likes of Eduvie Ikoba and Zan Vipotnik.
The uncertainty surrounding Postecoglou’s future, however, potentially opens the door for Ajeti to kick-start his Celtic career again. Celtic may soon be in need of a new head coach; the 57-year-old Australian now expected to replace Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Sun believe that an announcement may only be a few days away.
Ajeti, in nearly 50 games for Celtic, has scored just nine goals. He was part of the squad which claimed the Premiership title under Postecoglou in 2021/22 however.
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