Ex-Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham has been left stranded as a free agent after having the plug pulled on his move to AEK Athens.
Ntcham, who made 146 appearances in four years in Glasgow and captained the Hoops on several occasions, has recently departed Turkish side FC Samsunspor.
He looked set to join the Greek giants, whom he faced as a Celtic player in a 2018 Champions League qualifier.
However, it appears that AEK bosses pulled the deal at the last minute, leaving the 30-year-old in a hurry to find his next club.
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AEK Athens ‘sever all contact’ with Olivier Ntcham
AfricaFoot report that, after weeks of negotiations, AEK have “severed all contact” with Ntcham and his agents.
They are reportedly now pursuing other targets whom they deem as better profiles.
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Ntcham’s spell in Turkey was successful, but the collapse of his move to Greece will leave him desperately scrambling for his next move.
Despite his contributions in an extremely successful period for Celtic, Ntcham was a divisive figure in the support, with some criticising his attitude.
Undoubtedly his most famous moment was that Europa League winner against Lazio in Rome which gave the club their first-ever win in Italy.
He was caught up in a bizarre loan move to Marseille in January 2021, when L’OM boss Andre Villas-Boas sensationally offered his resignation in protest at the club’s signing of Ntcham behind his back.
He joined Russell Martin’s Swansea six months later, spending two years in South Wales before making the switch to Turkey.
Born in France, Ntcham was a French youth international but switched allegiance to Cameroon four years ago.
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Where are other stars from Brendan Rodgers’ first spell now?
Moussa Dembele was probably the main poster boy of Rodgers’ first spell.
He joined Lyon for £20 million in 2017, spending five years there (including six months at Atletico Madrid) before joining fellow ex-Celt Jack Hendry at Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia.
Kristoffer Ajer remains at Brentford, where he moved in 2021. He is a reliable squad player for Keith Andrews’ side and recently impressed for Norway at the World Cup.
Stuart Armstrong is back in Scotland playing with Aberdeen.
Patrick Roberts has reunited with then-Hoops assistant Chris Davies at Birmingham, where Kyogo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata also play.
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