There are 10 players in the running for the Dafabet Celtic Player of the Year Award, and supporters face a tough choice in voting for their favourite player in what has been another highly successful season for the Hoops.

VOTE NOW IN THE CELTIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS

And over the next few days, the official Celtic website will be featuring each of the 10 nominees. You can see all 10 in the video below. Our profiles continue today with Norwegian defender, Kristoffer Ajer.

PERHAPS the most endearing aspect of Kris Ajer’s style of play is the passion with which he celebrates slide tackles.

The towering Norwegian defender is known to cheer his blocks and stops with the same fervour as his forward-facing colleagues when they hit the net at the opposite end of the pitch, and we were treated to this sight on so many occasions during this campaign.

With 49 appearances across all competitions to his name in the 2019/20 trail, Ajer established himself as a stalwart of Neil Lennon’s starting XI, with the versatility to play in the heart of the Hoops defence within multiple formations, or on the right (and occasionally left) of a back four.

At the start of the campaign, 21-year-old Ajer stressed a desire to add more goals to his repertoire. He did so with four strikes this year – three in the league and one in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League – the most important of which was scored at Pittodrie on February 16, 2020.

After taking the lead on 10 minutes via Callum McGregor, Ash Taylor brought the scoreline level in a scrappy game which seemed destined to end a draw. But with just nine minutes of normal time remaining, Ajer burst from the back, strode into the opposition box, and fired the coolest of finishes up over Dons keeper Joe Lewis into the net.

It was a wonderful finish – one his forward-facing peers would be proud of – and marked a crucial three points in the Scottish champions’ march towards the title. And if the defender celebrates tackles in the same way strikers celebrate goals, you can imagine how elated he was when he found the net himself.

KRIS AJER ON HIS GOAL AT PITTODRIE
‘I screamed for the ball from the halfway line, and luckily, I got it. I knew that the goalkeeper is a really good goalkeeper and he was making himself big, so I had to lift the ball. I’m just happy that I managed to do that. It was a fantastic moment.'

2019/20 STATS                  APPS     SUBS     GOALS
League 28           0              3
League Cup 4              0              0
Scottish Cup 2              0              0
Europe 14           1              1
TOTAL 48           1              4

Dafabet Player of the Year nominee: Kristoffer Ajer