Celtic legend Chris Sutton has recently made a claim about Olivier Ntcham and whether the Hoops can afford to lose him or not.
Sutton was a guest on the latest episode of the Record Celtic podcast recently and the panel discussed many issues surrounding Celtic, with journalist Michael Gannon also making up part of the panel.
One thing that Sutton focused on was Ntcham and his current situation at Parkhead. The Hoops legend believes that Neil Lennon needs to play Ntcham more often and the Bhoys will be making a ‘huge mistake’ if they end up selling him anytime soon.
Ntcham has been linked with a move away from Celtic in recent days as Southampton, Everton and West Ham seem to be in a ‘transfer race’ for the midfielder (as per 90min).
The ex-Celtic striker said: “It’s a balancing act which I do think can be done. I think he’s such an important player, and I think Neil [Lennon] should be thinking about giving him more game time. Mick [Michael Gannon] mentioned the other names – [Callum] McGregor and [Ryan] Christie in there and Scott Brown. Of course, [they are] good players and at this moment in time, they’re the first names in that area on the team sheet, but for Celtic to compete on all fronts this season, they will need to rotate.
Should Celtic be looking to sell Ntcham?
No, he has to stay
Yes, he can leave
“Ntcham is more than a good replacement. I think he’s an outstanding player, and if Celtic lost him now, I think that would be a huge, huge mistake on their part, but Ntcham will be saying to Neil Lennon ‘well, [if] you want me to stay, you’re going to have to give me more minutes than you are giving me’. It is a sort of nice headache, but it would be a huge mistake to lose Ntcham.”
TIF Thoughts…
Ntcham had arrived at Parkhead from Manchester City in the summer of 2017 for a fee of £4.50 million. Since joining, the 24-year-old has made 126 appearances in all competitions for the Bhoys and he has contributed to a total of 35 goals from midfield.
This season, he has played only 57 minutes of first-team football and is yet to make a single start. He had contributed to 12 goals in 38 games in all competitions last season and had even scored an all-important stoppage-time winner for Celtic in their Europa League game against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
It shows that he can be a useful player and apart from adding goals from midfield, he also adds depth to the team. So Celtic should try to keep him at the club this summer.