Olivier Ntcham controversy could provide opportunity to Celtic

After being a rumored subject of transfer interest since the summer, a deal was finally struck yesterday to let Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham depart on loan to French side Marseille.

The youngster had been frustrated with his lack of playing time under Neil Lennon, especially after seemingly finding his stride and showing a lot of promise under previous manager Brendan Rodgers.

In a transfer deadline day deal, the 24-year-old was sent to French Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille on a loan through the end of the season, with an option to buy rumoured to be around £4.5 million.

In a strange turn of events, however, it now appears that Ntcham’s transfer has stirred up quite the turmoil at his new club. Per The Guardian, Marseille manager Andre Villas-Boas came out against the club’s decision to sign Ntcham on deadline day, claiming he wanted to resign because the former Celtic midfielder is not someone that he wanted.

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Could Celtic get a deal done for Villas-Boas?

After criticizing the club and their director, Marseille have now suspended Villas-Boas following his threat to resign as the club sit ninth in Ligue 1 despite having two games in hand on the majority of teams above them in the table.

This could provide an opportunity to Celtic though, who themselves are on the lookout for a new manager. And Villas-Boas could be the perfect choice if they can agree a deal with him, although that is tough considering the high wages he was getting in France.

Ntcham had made 23 appearances for the Hoops in 2020-2021, seeing declining production since his debut season in 2017-2018 under Rodgers. With one goal and one assist, Ntcham has not been performing consistently when compared to Marseille’s departed Sanson this season, who had two goals and three assists in 19 appearances for the French giants. Despite this decline in production, many still believe him to have a promising future in football and it will be interesting to see how he does for his new club.