The Celtic supporters have generally had a strong opinion on whether Olivier Ntcham should stay or go – the overwhelming decision has always been to keep him.
Ntcham has been in and out of Neil Lennon’s Celtic side this season, but has recently found himself in the starting line-up more regularly. In recent times, the Frenchman has started against Dundee United, Ferencvaros, and Motherwell respectively.
All the while, media speculation regarding his future has been at an all-time high. It was reported by the Glasgow Times after our Champions League exit that the player’s agent had asked the club to give them a valuation for his departure.
In addition to that, the likes of Lyon and Porto have been credited with an interest (Sky Sports).
But even though many supporters will flat out feel Ntcham should stay because of his quality, it isn’t as black and white as that for the club. Not when you look at his contract length.
The midfielder is now into the final two years of his deal. When he signed his current contract, it was up until the summer of 2022. It’s naive to think an extension to that is going to be penned too given recent events.
If Celtic just turn away all interest, then those same clubs could return in 12 months and see that he only has a year remaining on his deal. At that point, you can forget getting your full valuation out of the player.
Is Ntcham providing enough for Celtic to slash his transfer fee?
Celtic reportedly value Ntcham at around the £20m mark (90Min). The club will have to wave goodbye to any offer in that region if they turn away interest this summer.
That’s not to say that Ntcham should leave – not by any stretch. It all depends on whether Neil Lennon believes that he gets enough out of the player over the course of a season to sacrifice around £10m-15m worth of transfer cash.
Look at Stuart Armstrong for example. When he left the club, he was in the final year of his contract. In the end, we got £6m for a player that was easily worth at least treble that at the time given what he offered Brendan Rodgers (Glasgow Times).
Ntcham staying would undoubtedly be a boost towards achieving 10-in-a-row. He’s a unique footballer who has an eye for the magnificent. But let’s not pretend you get that from him every week.
Over the course of last season, the former Manchester City man netted eight goals and bagged four assists in 38 appearances (Transfermarkt). That’s not bad going, but would a similar return this season be worth sacrificing a heavy fee?
You can argue Ntcham isn’t all about goals and assists. He’s about breaking up play. He’s about creating room for others with his footwork and providing fantastic switches of play and balls that can split open defences.
There’s a big decision that needs to be made on his future. Lennon must be given his say on it too as this isn’t just a decision for the money-men.
But this isn’t black-and-white – if Celtic don’t sell this summer (January is a no-go either), then they’ll effectively be burning their chance at a big fee.
In other news, Celtic supporters have been reflecting on a glorious throwback tweet from the club.
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