Despite Rangers’ upsurge under Steven Gerrard, Celtic maintained their domestic domination and confirmed the eighth successive Premiership triumph defeating Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon. Neil Lennon continued from where Brendan Rodgers left, and the players showcased top-notch professionalism to wrap up the title.
However, a mass exodus is expected at Parkhead upon completion of the ongoing season. A few loan deals are set to expire while others are likely to be offloaded once their contracts run out this summer. But a few of their key individuals have been underwhelming too as they failed to meet the expectations set by themselves during the previous campaign.
Olivier Ntcham has to be the first name on that list whose performance degraded significantly following a blistering 2017-18 season. The Frenchman was linked to a £14m (as reported by the Scottish Sun) move to FC Porto in the winter transfer window, and he has struggled under Lennon in settling down in a central midfield role.
The 23-year-old former Manchester City youngster is indeed talented and has the potential to flourish furthermore in the forthcoming years. But his form and fitness have been alarming, and Chris Sutton had written a few words in The Record while sharing his verdict on how the Hoops’ stars have performed this season.
“Olivier Ntcham has been poor. He has so much potential and has gone backwards this season.”
Pretty straightforward from the iconic Celtic centre-forward who is known for being outspoken.
Sutton has jotted down exactly what the supporters must be thinking of at the moment. Ntcham was pivotal in the middle of the park under Rodgers when he used to dominate the midfield game, and stride forward from the deep areas to operate in the advanced areas.
He not only had an eye for goal but also set balls up for his teammates with his excellent vision, key passes and the final delivery. His all-around ability made him look like a smart piece of business, but recent form has shown why the Hoops must wait a bit longer before drawing any inference.
Ntcham needs a fresh start to regain his reputation and should shake off the disappointment of 2018-19 as soon as the Scottish giants start preparing for the upcoming campaign. He has all the traits to shine for the Bhoys in the long run. However, he must utilise his talent, and work on his concentration to make up lost ground.
