It had been a long time, after all, since Albian Ajeti was banging in the goals at Basel. The striker flopped at West Ham United and didn’t exactly fare much better at Celtic either, while a loan spell at Sturm Graz proved similarly underwhelming.
Celtic recouped just £500,000 worth of their £5 million investment when Ajeti put pen to paper with Turkish Super Lig outfit Gazientep at the start of September (Sky Sports). It is testament to how things have gone for the luckless striker in Turkey, however, that Celtic appear to have got the better of that late-summer deal as things stand.
Albian Ajeti struggling after Celtic exit
Ajeti has played only 37 of a potential 680 minutes so far at Gazientep. A goal on his debut against Istanbulspor is as good as things have gotten so far. That early optimism rapidly replaced by a familiar, déjà vu inducing sense of frustration.
Ajeti has missed Gazientep’s last four games with a muscle tear. The injury curse which wrecked his hopes of a permanent move to Sturm Graz following him to the furthest reaches of Europe.
Injured again
“I had a wonderful, wonderful time,” Ajeti told Laola1 a few weeks ago, a bittersweet tang to his tone. “I really enjoyed it, I met great people and was able to work with great people – from the coaching team to the employees, the board, to the teammates and fans.
“It was fun.
“The only thing that wasn’t as fun were the injuries I kept having,” he adds with a sigh. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid them.”
Try as he might, Ajeti just cannot escape the fitness issues which continue to dog his once-promising career.
