Tomorrow night, England vs France in the European Under-21 Championships could see a Celtic connection.
Olivier Ntcham has been called up to the France under-21s for the tournament. Their opening game will see them take on England’s best youngsters. And it could also prove to be a huge opportunity for Ntcham to drum up interest in him too.
The Frenchman told RMC that a departure from Celtic is a possibility this summer. Meanwhile, the Scottish Sun believes that the likes of Lyon, Marseille, and Porto are all vying for his signature too.
The French youngsters take on England before facing Croatia on Friday and then rounding off their group stage against Romania one week today.
Should Ntcham start against the English, he’ll likely be up against the likes of Everton’s Tom Davies and Manchester City’s Phil Foden respectively. He would certainly be competing against some impressive young competition.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Ntcham starts the contest in any case. In the last two friendlies against Belgium and Austria, he only came on for the final 30 minutes or so in both games. But, in any case, he’ll be playing a part in the three games in some capacity.
A potential money-maker
These European Championships could be a godsend for Celtic if they’re trying to get £12m for Ntcham too (Scottish Sun). The under-21 Euros are a terrific platform, and there will be scouts undoubtedly at the competition.
So if we’re going to maximise our value out of Ntcham, we need to hope he performs well over the next week and beyond. Then again, if he does put in some impressive performances, it could be the case that Neil Lennon wants to keep him around.
On a side-note, Celtic fans who may want to catch a glimpse of Moussa Dembele could also get that chance tomorrow night. He’s also with the French under-21s too. It would be a surprise if he didn’t start the contest, and watching him shoot down England at any level would be nice to see.
But it’s Ntcham we’ll all have our eyes on. To sum it up, if he performs well, it’s all the better for Celtic.
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