Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer has conceded that he did not expect to be called up to the Norway senior squad this soon in his career.
The 19-year-old centre-back has firmly established himself as a certain starter in Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side and has been a key player for the Bhoys over the last few months.
Despite his tender years, he has managed to keep more senior defenders on the bench and his performances for Celtic have been rewarded with a call-up to the national team.
Norway coach Lars Lagerback has included Ajer in the squad to face Australia and Albania in international friendlies and the defender admits that after representing his country at youth age group levels, making it to the senior team was always the aim.
However, he did concede that he has made it to the Norway squad a lot sooner than he expected and admits that he was expecting to be included in the Under-21 squad.
relatedNewsStory
“When you grow up loving football and supporting Norway you always have that dream to play for your country one day”, Ajer told the club magazine Celtic View.
“I’ve been in the national teams since Under-15 level so I’ve always been aiming for this target.
"I felt that I would eventually get there but it has come a lot quicker than I expected.
“I found out from watching the press conference which is how they usually do it with Norway.
"I was watching it from home and that’s when I saw I was in the senior squad for the first time.
“I knew there was a possibility for me to be called up, that was why I watched the press conference.
“I knew there were some very important Under-21 games so I was ready for that as well but I’m delighted to get the chance to play in the senior team.”
Ajer has represented Norway since his Under-15 days and has five caps to his name for the Under-21s.
