Zinedine Zidane believes that Olivier Ntcham can develop in exactly the same way as Moussa Dembele.
Twelve months ago Dembele was about to make the transition from Championship teenager into Champions League striker.
Within a short space of time Real Madrid and others were taking a keen interest in Dembele as he scored 32 goals in his debut season.
Brendan Rodgers spent £4m bringing Ntcham from Manchester City with Dembele the obvious template for the midfielder to follow.
Zidane keeps a close eye on developing French talent and believes that Ntcham has made the perfect move to kick his career on.
“The most important thing for a player of that age is to be playing regularly,” the Real Madrid boss told the Daily Record. “And if you can be playing regularly for a club that is in the Champions League, then that is even better because you can test yourself at the very top level.
“It is very difficult to break into a club like Manchester City as a young player – as there is so much pressure on the clubs for instant success.
“Celtic is the perfect club for him to mature and grow as a player – I am sure he looked at the season Dembele had and that is something he wants to replicate.”
Ntcham made his competitive debut against Linfield and is in contention to start against Rosenborg on Wednesday night.
Rodgers first showed interest in the midfielder in January when he was on loan from Manchester City to Genoa..
Rosenborg come to Glasgow on the back of a 3-2 aggregate win over Dundalk which went to extra time.
