Celtic boss Neil Lennon named Hoops midfielder Olivier Ntcham as the club captain for the game against Cluj on Thursday night.
That move made sense, as he was one of the more experienced Celtic players to feature on the night. The Hoops might have lost the game 2-0, but after the game Lennon was full of praise for the Frenchman.
“I thought Ntcham was unbelievable” Lennon said, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
“Absolutely top class”
“To give him the captaincy and then for him to take on the responsibility the way he did was excellent. I thought his all-round game tonight was absolutely top class.”
Lennon’s comments are full of superlatives for Ntcham. Describing the player’s performance was ‘unbelievable’ may be going a bit too far, but the Hoops boss sounded delighted with how his captain on the night performed.
Ntcham was linked with a move away from the Hoops last summer. He commented that a move to Marseille would benefit his game.
However, judging by Lennon’s comments the player won’t be leaving Celtic anytime soon. Lennon must fell that Ntcham has a big role to play for the Hoops in the weeks going forward, and in the second-half of the season.
Could the player be long-term successor to Hoops veteran?
That is despite the fact that he isn’t in the Celtic starting line-up every week. Perhaps Lennon sees Ntcham as the long-term successor to Scott Brown. Will the player be at Celtic long enough to take up that role? Who can say.
However, it is telling that Lennon was so enthusiastic about Ntcham’s performance. Ntcham might not have featured in the recent Betfred Cup Final win over Rangers, he was on the bench.
You would expect him to return to the first-team on a regular basis though, after reading Lennon’s comments. It sounds as if Ntcham will be a key man for the Hoops in the second-half of the season.
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