Celtic and their sheer supremacy in Scottish football might encounter a fierce challenge this term with Rangers‘ resurgence under new boss Steven Gerrard, who roped in 10 new faces to reconfigure the squad with a mission of restoring the lost pride at the Ibrox.
The Hoops, on the contrary, are yet to flex their muscle in the transfer market and are tying down young centre-forward Odsonne Edouard from Paris St-Germain in a club-record deal more than a month back (following last season’s impressive loan stint) still remains their most significant activity in the summer window.
Rodgers, the Celtic gaffer, has also made custodian Scott Bain’s loan move permanent but is sweating over the future of a few key resources who are drawing interest from abroad. Young midfield ace Oliver Ntcham is the latest name chased by West Ham United as per reports who are forming a formidable set-up under veteran Chilean Manuel Pellegrini with several high-profile inclusions.
The Stratford-based outfit have acquired custodian Lukasz Fabianski, right fullback Ryan Fredericks, central defensive duo Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena, former Arsenal midfield general Jack Wilshere, dynamic wide attacker Andriy Yarmolenko alongside Brazilian attacker Felipe Anderson, who completed a club-record transfer from Lazio. The Hammers, however, are still keen on more business work and Ntcham, the former Manchester City prodigy, is viewed as a project player with a long-term future.
The 22-year-old midfield general was handed a regular status at Parkhead on completing a £4.5m switch last summer in the aftermath of a two-year loan spell with Serie A side Genoa where he earned crucial minutes in senior football before plying his trade to Glasgow due to an uncertain first-team future for the star-studded Citizens.
Ntcham was key to their ‘treble’ triumph and his box-to-box work rate allowed Celtic to dominate the show and pull the strings from the middle of the park. The French youth international is continuing his scintillating run of form this term too as he netted via a sublime strike against Rosenborg on Wednesday night in the first leg tie of the prestigious Champions League qualifiers (second round) at Celtic Park.
Rodgers, the former Liverpool gaffer, has planned the new campaign circling Ntcham in a central role, yet an inquiry from East London will be hard to turn down.
The player, meanwhile, is under contract until summer 2021 that will allow the Hoops to keep a stronghold of their prized asset for the time being. However, the rumours will take no time to turn into reality if the Frenchman continues his stellar show and the Scottish giants will have no option but to let him leave in the near future amidst interest from other English top tier clubs. For the time being though, Rodgers has to hold course and ensure that Ntcham stays on at Celtic.
