AS Roma are reportedly interested in signing Olivier Ntcham in a transfer rumour that fails to make a lot of sense.
The Serie A giants are said to be keen on the Frenchman, according to Italian site TMW. They say that a January move could loom for the recent Europa League hero, while both Valencia and Sporting Lisbon are also interested.
So what’s the bit that doesn’t make sense? Well TMW, and Football Italia (who also cited the report) reckon that Roma have been turned on by Ntcham’s performance against their rivals Lazio. The problem with that is that the midfielder only featured for a total of 14 minutes against Simone Inzaghi’s side.
Roma interest in Ntcham is strange
Ntcham may have netted the dramatic late winner in the Stadio Olimpico but he was hardly the most prominent Celtic man over the course of the two matches. He missed the Glasgow fixture through injury and was brought on as a late sub in Rome.
Yes his contribution in the latter was telling, but surely one chip isn’t enough to attract Roma into moving for him in January.
Interest is likely to be high in a number of our first-team stars in the next window but it’s hard to work out where Ntcham fits into all that. He’s undoubtedly an important player for us yet he’s made just one start since the end of September.
The midfielder’s keenness for a move away was highlighted in the summer when he gave a revealing interview to French outlet L’Equipe. You doubt that Ntcham’s view has changed a whole lot since then so he may still be keen to pursue a move if the option is there.
Neil Lennon is likely to want to keep the player. But if a big money offer comes in, he could see the value in selling.
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