Vidar Riseth believes that Kris Ajer can follow the Virgil van Dijk blueprint to the very top.
Four years ago the Dutchman was easing through the challenges in Scotland ahead of a move to Southampton, at Liverpool there is an argument over whether there is currently a better defender in the world.
Ajer arrived at Celtic as a midfielder a year after van Dijk moved south but was quickly converted into a central defender, learning about the position during a four month loan spell at Kilmarnock.
In 2018 he made the breakthrough into the Celtic first team as a central defender with two recent appearances at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia for club and country putting Ajer into the spotlight.
“I can see him being a top centre back in the years to come,” Riseth told the Daily Record. “I spoke to him on the plane home from Spain and he told me he is loving life with Celtic.
“He enjoyed working with Brendan Rodgers and he spoke very highly about Neil Lennon. He is in no hurry to go elsewhere because he knows he is developing very well in Scotland.
“There will come a time though when he will have a decision. I think he will end up in English Premier League or the Bundesliga in maybe two years. He can easily play at that level.
“It’s funny, he will probably look even better in those leagues because they get more time on the ball. When you are in Scotland you barely get a second to think, and I think that is why he has improved his game so much.”
Tonight Ajer will have the chance to impress his home audience when Norway face Sweden in a European Championship qualifier after going down to a 2-1 defeat to Spain on Saturday.
At the age of 20 it’s inevitable that he will attract the attention of other clubs with Celtic getting him onto a new contract last season that ties him to the club until 2022.