Why Olivier Ntcham’s potential Celtic departure would be no surprise

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The Neil Lennon/Olivier Ntcham combination could be about to get broken up, but should we really be surprised?

Ntcham reportedly has the likes of Lyon, Marseille, and Porto vying for his signature respectively (Scottish Sun). The Frenchman also told RMC that it was a possibility he could leave the Scottish champions.

Scott Brown believes it was perhaps just a quote lost in translation (BBC). But you have to wonder just how long Ntcham’s association with Celtic will last.

And perhaps the proof was in the pudding towards the end of the season too. For example, just look at the stats Ntcham produced when Lennon was appointed.

Lennon only started Ntcham in four out of a possible 10 occasions after he recovered from his knee injury. Two of those occasions was when he changed the majority of the starting XI around too. Against St Mirren, Lennon looked to rest many of the stars who had impressed against Rangers one week previous. Against Hearts on trophy day, the majority of the first team were also dropped.

Lennon did give Ntcham cameo appearances in three other matches, but also left him as an unused substitute in another three.

There wasn’t an overwhelming desire from the then Celtic interim boss to put much trust into Ntcham. He didn’t start key Scottish Cup games against Aberdeen or Hearts. He also didn’t start in key league games against Rangers, Aberdeen, and Kilmarnock respectively. In big matches where Celtic needed to win, Ntcham was generally out of the starting XI.

This was much different under Brendan Rodgers before his knee injury. Rodgers gave Ntcham 90 minutes in four out of five games before he picked up his knock.

Ntcham still wasn’t performing well, and particularly struggled at Ibrox back in December before the knock.

Ntcham didn’t impress under Lennon

Lennon’s arrival seemed to limit the opportunities Ntcham was given. When he did play, he was especially poor too. It was evident that Lennon wasn’t able to get much of a tune out of the talented Frenchman.

So perhaps a parting of the ways wouldn’t be overly-surprising. Ntcham wasn’t carrying a knock after returning – he was just poor. He never seemed to look up for it under Lennon whenever he featured. This is likely where fans are basing arguments on his poor attitude too.

Of course, he won’t be going anywhere until a team coughs up the money either. After all, Ntcham signed a long-term contract with Celtic back in November that expires in 2020 (Celticfc.net). He’ll only go when we get a figure we deem worthy.

But the signs were there before the end of the season that a potential split with Ntcham could’ve been an option. If he does go, it’s not something that should surprise many.