Neil Lennon has revealed that Olivier Ntcham has been looking to leave Celtic ‘over a long period of time’.
The midfielder is in talks with Marseille about a move, initially on loan but becoming permanent if set criteria are met.
Ntcham joined Celtic in the summer of 2017 from Manchester City after impressing on loan at Genoa in Serie A.
When Moussa Dembele left in August 2018 his form dipped after an impressive debut season but he did sign up to a new contract in November 2018.
As a former French u-21 internationalist schooled at Manchester City’s Academy he has a fantastic pedigree but over the last 18 months or so he has made little impact at Celtic, starting just seven SPFL fixtures this season.
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I’ve spoken to Olivier over two years more or less since I’ve been here. I think that he is looking for a fresh start to progress his career elsewhere. He’s made that clear over a long period of time.
Ntcham has got 18 months to run on his current deal but with David Turnbull and Ismaila Soro now in the first team it is an area of the park that Celtic are well covered in.
Tom Rogic, Ryan Christie and Scott Brown have also been struggling for a starting place with Ewan Henderson and others also available for selection.
