Olivier Ntcham has been written off by vast swathes of the Celtic support in recent months.
Last week, the Scottish Sun reported that Porto were once again sniffing around the midfielder. Most Celtic fans would be happy to see Ntcham move on but perhaps we shouldn’t be so hasty. He could still have a role to play at the club, especially under a new manager.
The Frenchman has found consistency hard to come by recently. He started just 16 of Celtic’s 38 league matches this season, coming on in a sub in four more.
There’s no doubting he has quality. It’s been his temperament and application that has let him down in the past.
New manager, new start
Recent years have shown us the effect a new manager can have on individual players. Stuart Armstrong was going nowhere before Brendan Rodgers joined Celtic in 2016. The Northern Irishman gave the midfielder a chance, moulded him into a top player and then sold him on for profit.
Jozo Simunovic has enjoyed a similar, but less documented, rise at Celtic since Neil Lennon joined. Once again, Lennon put his trust in the player and has since been rewarded with good performances.
A new Celtic manager could have a similar effect on Olivier Ntcham. The 23-year-old has all the quality needed to be a Celtic player. He just needs to add consistency to his game.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
