Olivier Ntcham attracted a lot of interest in the summer transfer window and Portuguese giants Porto launched a £15m bid to sign the former Manchester City midfielder. But Celtic rejected the bid straight away. Even English club West Ham United were said to be interested in him. His performance this season has been a bit underwhelming for the most parts, and many blame it because of the transfer speculations. However, Ntcham has now signed a new deal with the Hoops which will keep him at the club until 2022.
The midfielder seemed delighted to sign the new deal. The Frenchman said,”I’m delighted to extend my contract. It’s good news and I hope we’re going to win more trophies. It’s a great side and I’m glad to be part of the project.
“Having a strong bond with the players is very important for the team, and for the club. I feel good here and I hope we’re going to win more trophies and that we can be even more successful this year than last year. I want to improve on everything in respect of the game. Scoring more goals is, of course, part of the game and is important for me as well.”
This can be considered as a massive success for the Bhoys as Ntcham is still just 22 and with more time, he is undoubtedly going to get better. He is likely to still attract interest in the transfer window but this new deal is going to make sure that the Hoops can demand their price and the clubs interested in him might have to shell an exorbitant amount to sign him.
Currently out with an injury, Rodgers would hope that the French midfielder can soon be back to his best. However, the Hoops have done well in his absence as someone like Ryan Christie has stepped up big time to fill in midfield.
It would be interesting to see now what would Rodgers do if the likes of Scott Brown, Ntcham and Christie all are available together. On current form, Christie cannot be dropped and we feel Ntcham might have to wait for his chance to start in midfield.
Nevertheless, it is always good to have a healthy competition for places in the side as that pushes the other players to do better. West Ham are the kind of club which can attract him and it is expected that the Hammers would go after a midfield powerhouse in January.
The East London outfit spent some big money in the summer and it is not beyond them to make a £20-25m bid for Ntcham in January. However, Rodgers should keep hold of his man especially now that he has signed a new deal.
