Kristoffer Ajer played 1,533 minutes from 25 games for Brentford last season as three different injuries forced him to spend 100+ days on the sidelines. The Norway international also lost prominence towards the end of the campaign.
Back in June, Norway manager Ståle Solbakken publicly urged the centre-back to leave the Bees in the summer window.
The defender hasn’t left Brentford and is currently training under Solbakken ahead of Norway’s upcoming fixtures against Finland and Moldova [World Cup qualifiers].
Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet had a chat with the 27-year-old to discuss whether there were possibilities for him to leave Brentford in the recently concluded window.
The defender has revealed there were several concrete opportunities, but a move didn’t go through because of Keith Andrews’ side.
“There were concrete offers from some clubs that were interesting. But Brentford did not let me go right now. They wanted to keep the core of the team together,” he said.
When asked if he can reveal the details of those clubs, Ajer explained: “They were clubs from the best leagues in Europe. I don’t want to be any more specific than that.”
Ajer played the full 90 minutes in Brentford’s 2-0 EFL Cup win over AFC Bournemouth. Andrews gave him five minutes of playing time against Aston Villa and left him on the bench in the other two league games.
Despite not regaining his place at Brentford, the former Celtic man explained he feels Brentford rejecting offers is positive for him.
“If Brentford had agreed to sell me, it would have been a clear signal that it was the right thing to do. The fact that Brentford said no and wanted me to stay is a positive signal from the club,” he added.
“I am well aware that I will get more playing time for Brentford in the autumn. I’m not stressed about it.”