Celtic fans may find themselves rooting for France in the UEFA European under-21 Championships this summer. The French side are seen as one of the favourites for the tournament in Italy and San Marino and they boast a current and former Celtic player in their ranks.
Current Hoops man Olivier Ntcham is one of the older members of the French squad at 23 while former Celtic favourite Moussa Dembele leads the line for Sylvain Rippol’s side.
To make matters even more interesting, the French open their campaign with a match against England on Tuesday night. They then round off the group with matches against Romania and Filip Benkovic’s Croatia. Celtic fans may have someone to support this summer after all.
Ntcham value
It will be interesting to see if Ntcham manages to dazzle on the big stage. The midfielder endured a pretty rotten season in the Hoops, occasionally turning up but failing to deliver in the main.
He’s had interest from the likes of Lyon and Marseille so far this summer and will be trying to earn a move with a good tournament. It may be a tough ask for him to see much game time though. Ntcham hasn’t started any of France’s last seven under-21 internationals and is expected to be on the bench against England.
Lots is made of the disparity between Paul Pogba’s performances for France and Manchester United. The midfielder looks an entirely different player when he’s surrounded by a team of his compatriots. It will be interesting to see if the same applies to Ntcham.
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