Turkish media believe that midfielder Olivier Ntcham is wanted by Sivasspor as his Celtic career remains up in the air this summer.
According to Haberler, the Turkish Super Lig outfit have been in contact and are in negotiations regarding a potential transfer. Ntcham has already been the subject of a potential move to Greek side AEK Athens [Scottish Sun].
However, a rather bizarre valuation of the former Man City midfielder has been reported. Haberler state that Celtic are looking for as little as €1million (£860k). That’s despite the fact that he cost the club £4.5m when he signed in the summer of 2017 [BBC].
Ntcham spent the second half of last season on loan with Marseille and looks certain to depart in the summer. With his contract entering its final 12 months, the France under-21 international has a major question mark to his name with regards to his long-term future.
With Celtic set for a colossal summer rebuild, you would expect the Hoops to try and maximise their assets. €1m for Ntcham just wouldn’t be a goer.
Olivier Ntcham to Sivasspor would be a major step down from Celtic
We all know that Ntcham thinks he’s better than what the Scottish Premiership has to offer. You would have to wonder then what he feels the Turkish Super Lig would have to offer him then. Especially if he joined fifth-placed Sivasspor.
If he made the switch, he would be primed to feature in the UEFA Conference League next season. At the very least, Celtic have the opportunity to be playing Champions League football next term. It’s not as if Turkey’s domestic league is of a much higher standard than Scotland’s either.
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Ntcham clearly has an eye on one day playing in one of Europe’s top leagues. However, a step to Sivasspor, or anyone in Turkey or even Greece for that matter, is anything but a step up. If he was to stay and impress at Celtic Park, he would get his opportunity to move to a bigger league. But only so long as he showed his worth in green-and-white.
Just look at what a string of good performances have done for the likes of Kris Ajer and Odsonne Edouard. If Ntcham was able to reach those levels on a consistent basis, he would be getting talked about for big money moves.
As for Celtic’s valuation, it’s hardly likely they would even be open to the prospect of an offer below £1m. If anything, they should still be looking at around £3m at least for Ntcham’s services. Remember, it was only several months ago that we were reportedly looking to insert an €10m (£8.6m) option to buy clause with Marseille [France Football].
If someone wants to take Ntcham now, they still need to put in a respectable offer. As of yet, it doesn’t seem as though Celtic have received any.