OPINION
The chances of exit-linked Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham leaving the club look bleak after the latest report.
An earlier report [La Provence] claimed that Marseille – who are said to be keen on the 23-year-old – need to shift some players from their books if they are to be able to afford the move, due to the risk of breaching Financial Fair Play regulations.
The Daily Record went on to say that the Ligue 1 club were waiting on West Ham to make a significant bid for their midfielder, Morgan Sanson, which would potentially go a long way to giving Andre Villas-Boas’s side the funds they need.
However, the Daily Record now add in a separate report on their transfer blog [Wednesday, 9:03am] that due to West Ham’s firm interest in Villarreal midfielder Pablo Fornals [Football Insider], two a move for Sanson looks unlikely and two other players are now in the frame to be sold.
They are fellow midfielders Kevin Strootman and Luiz Gustavo, and while these players are said to be likely to raise sufficient funds, there are doubts over whether their departures will become a reality.
The newspaper says that Strootman, 34, is unreliable with his injury record, having gone under the knife for knee surgery three times in the last five years. This could mean other clubs may be unwilling to take him on, and with his age, he is unlikely to freshen any team up.
As for Gustavo, he has a year left on his current deal at Marseille but a departure from the south of France will not break the bank by any stretch for his potential suitors.
The Record’s latest report is yet another blow in Celtic’s efforts to let Ntcham leave. The club are willing to see him go, but it looks ever more likely that these stumbling blocks will mount up and a transfer for the midfielder from the club will eventually either fall through, or be called off.