This season has been a disastrous state of affairs for Celtic, one that could well cost Neil Lennon his job.

After last weekend’s SPFL action, they fell 11 points behind their arch-rivals Rangers.

The manager’s head was called for but he received the backing of the board after their 2-2 draw with Hibernian.

However, few Celtic chiefs can defend the result that occurred on Thursday evening.

In being unceremoniously dumped out of the Europa League with two group games still to play, the Hoops were beaten 4-1.

The defending on show was abysmal as countless times the men in green left their opponents unmarked and with easy goal-scoring opportunities.

The worst performer from Lennon’s point of view was undoubtedly Kristoffer Ajer, someone who has looked a shadow of his former self this season.

It wasn’t long ago that Ajer was being linked with both Tottenham and Leicester, but any thought of claiming a high-end fee for his services now look shot.

The fact of the matter is that the centre-back has been poor this term and is doing himself no favours if he wants to earn a move to a bigger club in England or Europe.

Ajer’s display against Sparta Prague on Thursday just about summed things up. He completed one tackle and made zero interceptions. The defender also lost possession 11 times and completed just two of seven long balls attempted.

His marking was also particularly poor, especially for the first goal when he was nowhere near David Hancko who tucked the chance away from close range.

For someone who prides himself on being a ball-playing defender, Ajer was particularly poor in this phase of the game too. To highlight his poor day at the office, the Dane completed just 76% of his passes. For context, he is usually successful with 88% on average.

It speaks volumes about Ajer’s game when he’s not even on song with one of his strongest attributes.

Thus, should Celtic look to cash in on the 22-year-old in January? Undoubtedly so.

Reports from Italy this week stated that AC Milan were interested in completing a swap deal for Ajer with Diego Laxalt who is currently on loan in Glasgow.

A claim from Football Insider, meanwhile, claims that Celtic are looking to sell some of their star men – currently valued at £90m – including Ajer. That’s because of a £13m drop in turnover.

If Celtic want to get a decent fee for his services they must sell as soon as they can before his value plummets further.

He showed on Thursday he is not indispensable to the Bhoys.

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