Celtic reportedly rejected two bids for the player on Deadline Day as they decided to hold on to him for their 10IAR campaign.
Neil Lennon had already hinted that Deadline Day was going to be a busy one for Celtic. And those claims were backed up by the arrival of Diego Laxalt on a season-long loan from AC Milan.
The move capped off a terrific window for the Hoops where they brought in the Uruguayan along with Shane Duffy, Vasilis Barkas, Albian Ajeti and David Turnbull while also extending the loan stay of Mohamed Elyounoussi for another season.
On top of that, there have not been any major departures although the club have let a number of fringe players. That could have been very different though as Celtic were on the receiving end of a couple of loan bids for their French midfielder Olivier Ntcham.
RMC Sport journalist Loic Tanzi tweeted out:
Bordeaux a tenté de se faire prêter Oliver Ntcham (Celtic Glasgow), sans réussite. Une offre de prêt a également été envoyé par Brest ces dernières heures. Offre jugée trop basse #Mercato #RMCLive
— Loïc Tanzi (@Tanziloic) October 5, 2020
It translates to:
"Bordeaux tried to get Oliver Ntcham (Celtic Glasgow) loaned, without success. A loan offer has also been sent by Brest in recent hours. Offer deemed too low #Mercato#RMCLive"
Ntcham has emerged as a very important player this season in Neil Lennon’s 3-5-2 formation. The Frenchman is arguably the most technically gifted midfielder that Celtic have in their ranks right now. And although he has not always been a first-team star, there is no denying his talent.
Thus, Neil Lennon would be happy to hold on to Ntcham for the rest of the season as he is expected to feature heavily in a midfield three of Scott Brown, Callum McGregor and himself. But with less than two year’s left on his contract, they should be ready to let him go next summer instead of losing him for free the following year.
Ntcham has always seemed like someone looking to leave the club and while Celtic have managed to hold on to him for the time being, questions still remain about his long-term Parkhead future.