A young defender compared to Virgil van Dijk in a club circle

Young Celtic Kristoffer Ajer has "every chance" to follow the lead of Liverpool central defender Virgil van Dijk, according to former Hoops defender Johan Mjallby.

Twenty-year-old Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon have emerged as a real talent at Celtic Park this season. The club is about to win the title of Scottish Prime Minister.

He particularly impressed in Celtic's 2-1 win over the Rangers in the Old Firm Derby and drew the attention of Mjallby, who believes that the Norwegian can imitate the success of the former Celtic defender. , Van Dijk.

"If he stayed, he could certainly follow the same path as Virgil Van Dijk," said Mjallby, who spent six years alongside the Scottish giants as a player, by FootballScotland.

"He has every chance, he is very young, but he has all the attributes to become very good."

Van Dijk, who spent two seasons at Celtic Park before joining Southampton, was an integral part of the title challenge for Liverpool this season and helped the Reds qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Under Jurgen Klopp, the Dutch international has imposed himself as one of the best defenders in the world and is among the favorites to be named player of the year in the Premier League.

"Virgil was probably more advanced when we brought him," added Mjallby, Celtic's badistant when the club signed the Dutchman in 2013.

"It took him a while, not from the football point of view, because he was too good even when he got here."

"It was more a matter of telling him to stay focused because it was almost too easy for him, but it took him a while to showcase his leadership qualities." He was new to the club and the atmosphere of everything surrounding Celtic.

"You see him playing for Liverpool with all his leadership qualities, and it's important for Kristoffer, who is so young, to improve his leadership skills before going to another league."

The Ajer has already attracted the attention of several European clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, last summer.

But Mjallby thinks he will benefit from staying in Glasgow, especially if Dedryck Boyata completes a supposed move to Germany.

"Next season, the path will be clearer for him at Celtic.It's a great opportunity for him to improve," he added. "He will have more time to put his mark on how he wants to play.

"You will think that he will need an older head by his side, especially in high pressure games.

"But he has every chance, I've seen a lot of him, he's still young, but he's tall and good on the ball, and it probably took him a little bit of time to put his authority forward, in a certain way.

"I just want to see him play more games in the defense center a week before his decision, which took him a long time and I heard rumors that he could go to the Bundesliga.

"I think he should definitely stay and become a Celtic pillar even before considering a move.It would be nice for his future to make sure that he'll be a starter to every game here." , first."