Celtic have seen many players wave goodbye to the Parkhead club during their recent transfer windows.

One big player that brought an end to his significant time with the Hoops during the previous summer market was defender Kristoffer Ajer.

The Bhoys signed the centre-back in 2016 from Norwegian club IK Start. The defender then went on to make 176 appearances for the club across all competitions, chipping in with seven goals and seven assists along the way in addition to winning numerous trophies.

The 24-year-old then made a move down south to join Brentford in the English Premier League, in a deal that saw Celtic pick up an initial fee of £13.5m for the player.

Even though the Hoops managed to end their first SPFL season without the Norway international with fewer goals conceded (22) than any other side in the division, the last few weeks of the current transfer window could see the Bhoys bring in what might be their next version of Ajer.

Earlier in the window, it was reported that the Hoops were interested in signing 20-year-old Schalke defender Malick Thiaw.

Bearing in mind how Ajer was only 17 when he made the move to Parkhead, a swoop for Thiaw could mirror this previous transfer given how he is still an incredibly young defender.

In addition to this, the defensive talent the two players share also shows how similar they are and why the German could be the next version of the former Celtic figure.

Looking at the Schalke prodigy's previous league campaign compared to Ajer's final season with Celtic, both players managed to rack up over 50 interceptions and an almost identical rate of clearances per game, with Thiaw averaging 3.4 and the former Hoops star averaging 3.3.

This backs up why Christian Gross hailed the young German as an "excellent" player that has "great potential" in him.

It also backs up why football scout Jacek Kulig called him a "big talent" as the player was previously linked with a £7m move to Liverpool.

Depending on whether the likes of Christopher Jullien or Stephen Welsh end up leaving Celtic this summer, as both have been linked with moves away recently, securing a deal for the Schalke starlet should definitely be in the thoughts of Postecoglou and the Celtic hierarchy before the window closes.