Kristoffer Ajer, born on April 17, 1998, is a Norway-born defender who currently plays primarily as a central defender for Brentford. A substantial presence on the pitch, Ajer stands at 6ft 5in (1.96m), and weighs in at 13st 3lb (84kg). Donning the number 20 jersey, he has also had the honour of representing Norway's national team.
Ajer's current market value, deemed to be around £15.3m, was elucidated by Transfermarkt. His time with Brentford looks set for the foreseeable future, with his contract due to expire only on June 30, 2028, with 3 years and 1 month remaining.
Ajer kick-started his professional football journey with Start in the OBOS-ligaen in Norway, joining as a trainee in January 2014. In his debut season, he made 13 appearances and netted once in league matches, followed by upping his game with 28 appearances and eight goals the subsequent season.
He then moved to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership in July 2016 for a fee of approximately £750k. This marked the beginning of a four-year stint with Celtic, dripping in rich experiences.
After a brief loan spell with Kilmarnock - during which he made 16 first team appearances - Ajer returned to Celtic in July 2017, marking the start of the 2017-2018 season, in which he made 24 league appearances. This pattern of play was carried forward into the 2018-2019 season, with 28 appearances. However, the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons saw a spike in his stats, with Ajer not only making 28 and 35 appearances respectively but also scoring thrice in the former season and twice in the latter.
In July 2021, he switched Celtic's green-and-white Hoops for the red-and-white of Brentford, moving south to the English Premier League for around £14m. This transition saw him make significant progress, with 24 appearances booked in the 2021-2022 season, nine in 2022-2023, and 28 with two goals in the 2023-2024 period. Currently, in the 2024-2025 season, Ajer has rolled up his sleeves for 24 games.
Besides his contributions in league matches, Ajer has also shown his worth in various cups and qualifiers, lending his talents to Brentford in the League Cup 2024-2025, and Norway in the World Cup Qualifiers Europe 2024-2026, Euro Qualifiers 2022-2024, and Nations League 2024-2025, even adding a goal to his tally in World Cup Qualifiers.
