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Daily Record
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Will Lancaster

Albian Ajeti continues Celtic 'flop' redemption arc with clinical winner in Austria

Albian Ajeti scored yet again over the weekend to continue his rich vein of form which has seen him start to overturn the 'flop' tag he was branded with at Celtic throughout his tenure in Glasgow.

Ajeti was a Neil Lennon signing back in August 2020, although behind Odsonne Edouard in the pecking order at the time, he was never likely to start under the Northern Irishman at Parkhead. With Leigh Griffiths also featuring sporadically, the Switzerland international was never likely to blossom unless the departure of either of the aforementioned pair came to fruition.

Nonetheless, Lennon's sacking back in February 2021 due to a spate of poor performances resulted in a lacklustre Celtic side crawling over the line into second place by the end of the season, 28 points behind Rangers. Ange Postecoglou came to the fore - and whilst he gave Ajeti a chance alongside Giorgos Giakoumakis and Kyogo Furuhashi, it was clear that he was out of favour under the Aussie.

Just five starts in all competitions last season saw him desperate for a move away from the club; add Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda into the mix as potential front men, and it was clear to see why Ajeti opted for a move to Austrian side Sturm Graz over the summer on a loan-to-buy basis.

And starting his spell at the Stadion Graz-Liebenau in superb fashion, Ajeti doubled his tally to make it two goals in five with a well-taken winner in the 3-2 win over Wolfsberger AC to keep the south-eastern side within touching distance of giants RB Salzburg.

With another two years left on his Celtic deal, could we still see Ajeti run riot in a Celtic shirt if Kyogo or Giakoumakis move elsewhere by the end of next summer's transfer window, should Postecoglou wish to give him one final chance? His pedigree is clear to see.

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