Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer is being watched by Newcastle and the Premier League side had scouts in attendance during the club's loss to Rangers over the course of the weekend, according to The Scottish Sun. 

What is the latest transfer news involving Kristoffer Ajer? 

The report claims that Newcastle officials were running the rule over the towering 23-year-old at Ibrox, though his side slipped to a crushing 4-1 loss to cap off a truly miserable campaign for the Parkhead giants. 

Previously, the likes of Leicester City and AC Milan have been linked with a move and The Athletic did recently suggest the list of players considered good enough to play in the Champions League for Celtic who are happy to stay at the club was dwindling. 

Indeed, back in August 2020, The Times also revealed that the Norweigian international was keen to leave the club he first joined in 2016. 

How long does Ajer have left on his contract? 

Unfortunately for Celtic, Ajer will soon enter the final year of his contract which is currently due to expire in the summer of 2022. 

The player did not extend his deal when offered after former agent Tore Pederson insisted he was likely to leave the club last summer. 

"He will not extend his contract with Celtic and will leave this summer," he told The Daily Record at the time. 

"There are several clubs who are interested, but I can't go into their names. There are many who have followed him for a long period.

"There are also clubs who would like to have him, but who cannot afford it."

How much would Ajer cost to sign? 

Given how little time there is to go on his deal, The Daily Mail have previously claimed Newcastle were looking to do a deal for around £8m. 

That would be a significant drop on the £15m The Scottish Daily Mail (via HITC) claimed Celtic were looking for back in November 2020, though perhaps still a sizeable enough figure to convince them to sell, considering there have been reports from Football Insider of a major overhaul taking place at the club. 

Should they receive a good enough offer, surely the temptation would be to sell a man who wanted to leave before he enters the final six months of his contract and is able to talk to other clubs in January. 

What did Neil Lennon say about Ajer? 

Prior to his sacking, former Celtic boss Neil Lennon revealed he'd had a heart-to-heart with the defender in regards to his future. 

"You can't control speculation - there's been no concrete offers, no confirmation of anything and we don't want to sell him," he said in September (via The Daily Record). 

"He's in a good place mentally, I spoke to him on it yesterday.

"I'm there as support for him, sometimes it can be a very distracting situation he finds himself in.

"He's all getting the support he can from myself, my backroom team and obviously his teammates."