Milan Leading Chase for Kristoffer Ajer With Leicester Interested

AC Milan are in advanced talks with highly rated Celtic ace Kristoffer Ajer, who is not willing to sign a new deal at Parkhead, though Leicester remain interested in the defender.

Ajer joined the Bhoys from Norwegian outfit IK Start in January 2016 before heading out on loan to Kilmarnock briefly a year later.

He firmly established himself at the heart of Celtic's defence upon his return and, according to Nicolò Schira, Milan are very keen to bring Ajer in to sure up their defence this summer. However, they face competition from Brendan Rodgers' side, due to Ajer's links to the Northern Irishman from his time in charge at Celtic.

Ajer's agent Tore Pedersen indicated back in March that his player would not sign a new contract and, according to Schira, Rossoneri CEO Ivan Gazidis is in extended talks with Pedersen and Milan remain first in line to sign the player.

It remains to be seen whether Ajer will favour a move to Serie A or the Premier League to reunite with his former manager, but there is certainly interest in his services.

Currently, Leicester are in decent shape in central defence. Caglar Soyuncu has stepped up since the departure of Harry Maguire, while Jonny Evans has been extremely Jonny Evans - solid and dependable, in other words - since signing for the Foxes 2018.

Contrastingly, Milan have been a defensive laughing stock in Serie A in recent years. Alessio Romagnoli has been a consistent fixture at the back, but players like Mateo Musacchio, Cristian Zapata and even Leonardo Bonucci have struggled at San Siro.

However, Simon Kjaer was brought in on loan from Sevilla during the January transfer window and helped I Rossoneri to two clean sheets in his first four league games for the club.