Celtic are reportedly ready to do a £10m deal for Olivier Ntcham should Marseille an co decide to get around the table.
According to Football Scotland, the Hoops are demanding at least £10m to sell their Frenchman. This comes after initially being reported by the Scottish Sun as wanting £12m for the midfielder.
Ntcham struggled with inconsistency last season, and often found himself in and out of the team. Despite that, he still managed 37 appearances and six goals last term. Just one solitary assist was a tad disappointing, but the treble-treble was won in any case.
It’s interesting to see that around £2m has been chopped off the initial reported price. But regardless of whether the initial figure was pure speculation or not, £10m is still a steep figure.
It’s no surprise that Medio Tempo have linked Ligue 1’s Marseille with a potential Ntcham alternative in Rodolfo Pizarro for just over £6m. Pizarro plays in Mexico, but apparently has a clause that states he can leave for a European team for £6.3m.
£10m deal looks nowhere near completion anytime soon
It’s now fair to say that the initial flurry of interest in the Celtic midfielder has cooled. Marseille remains the club most consistently linked with Ntcham, but no official offers have been reported.
The likes of Lyon and Porto have also been credited with an interest in the past (Scottish Sun). Yet again, however, neither have made a reported official approach for the Celtic man.
It’s not clear whether Ntcham will play a part against St Gallen tomorrow. His campaign with the France under-21s at this summer’s European Championships has come to a close. But whether he can play in our final pre-season friendly hasn’t been confirmed.
As it stands, it’s probably safe to say that Ntcham doesn’t get into our starting XI. The central midfield positions still go to Scott Brown and Callum McGregor. Therefore, if we’re truly looking for £10m for a squad player at Parkhead, then you have to love the boldness from the Hoops here.
It doesn’t any longer seem like a case of accepting the first offer made by a club in a bigger league. Instead, Celtic continue to look for the most profitable deal they can for the club.
We are now also seeing the rewards of tying Ntcham up on a long-term contract last season. This gives the Hoops real flexibility in negotiations. But whether our asking price will prove too much remains to be seen. If it does, at the least the message has been sent that you don’t get our players on the cheap anymore.
Either way, Celtic come out of this looking strong.
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