New Celtic star Olivier Ntcham has paid credit to Brendan Rodgers and Moussa Dembele as the duo who helped convince him to sign for the club.
The club confirmed the arrival of the 21-year-old attacking dfielder from Manchester City on Wednesday via their official Twitter account and website, the player signing a four-year deal at Celtic Park:
? The wait is finally over! Olivier Ntcham joins #CelticFC on a four-year deal. Welcome, Olivier! #NtchamisaCelt
?? https://t.co/pSalYIdKhs pic.twitter.com/efas3rwWpX
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 12, 2017
His arrival signalled the third name through the door for Brendan Rodgers this summer, following Jonny Hayes from Aberdeen and Kundai Benyu from Ipswich, and his latest signing said that the manager’s vision was a key part in his decision to move.
Ntcham insists that Hoops’ style of play suits his own abilities down to the ground, and says that after a conversation with the Northern Irish boss, he knew that Celtic was the right choice despite interest from the likes of Italian giants Inter Milan.
He told the club’s official website: “It was Brendan Rodgers who got me to come here.
“I liked the philosophy of Brendan as he always wants to play with the ball, and this is the way I like to play.
“I spoke to the manager, who welcomed me and said I made a good choice in coming here and how we’re going to work hard to achieve the targets of the team.”
However, the 21-year-old admitted it was not just Rodgers who played a major role in his arrival, but fellow French Under-21 international Moussa Dembele.
“Moussa tells me the club is great. He was so happy when I arrived at Celtic,” he told the Daily Record.
“We have played together a long time, since we were 15-16 years-old. I’m very happy to be here.”
Dembele had an instant impact following his arrival from English Championship side Fulham last summer, hitting 32 goals in 49 appearances, and fans will be hoping Ntcham can follow in his friend’s footsteps.
While he failed to turn out for the senior side at Manchester City, the young midfielder did earn 41 first team appearances for Italian side Genoa during a two-year long loan spell, scoring three goals and notching up another two assists.