Olivier Ntcham made his first Celtic appearance since Christmas 2020 but failed to impress the fans watching on Celtic TV.
The midfielder was part of the half time changeover, forming a midfield barrier alongside Liam Shaw.
Neil Lennon claimed that Ntcham had been looking to get out of Celtic for some time when he joined Marseille in January, the switch to France did nothing for his reputation with the prospect of a permanent deal quickly dismissed.
As recently as a fortnight ago it looked like the former French u-21 internationalist was close to joining AEK Athens but that move also seems to have fallen through with a return to Celtic following a period of solo training.
Ntcham replaced Callum McGregor at half-time today but it coincided with a noticeable drop in the quality of the performance.
In 10 days time Celtic take on Midtjylland in a Champions League qualifier- it seems highly unlikely that the matchwinner against Lazio less than two years ago will be involved against the Danes.
Ryan Christie
Anthony ralston
Olivier Ntcham
Mickey Johnstone
Leigh Griffiths
Greg Taylor
Barkas?? bye
We have some recruitment task ahead.
— Don Huell Babinucci ?? (@babineux_huell) July 10, 2021
Be daft to get rid of him or Taylor though to be honest. Maybe not first team regulars but if we get rid then we need first and second choice in those positions. We need rid of Eddie, ajer, Ntcham and Christie and then we need to build around the rest and fill in the gaps.
— Jock (@Jocksbhoys) July 10, 2021
Ntcham’s never gonna get a move unless he starts performing. Does he not understand that?
— Jock (@Jocksbhoys) July 10, 2021
I’m holding fire on Eddy , if no buyers he stays , and I’m sure he’ll buckle down . Christie and Ntcham looked checked out already
— ??steve murray #ForzaItalia?? (@sdceltic1) July 10, 2021
Good thread, Alan. Pretty much agree with all of that, especially the comments re Ntcham, Christie and Edouard. It’s easy to put it down to it being their first match, but the likes of McGregor, Turnbull, Dembele etc seemed to cope ok…
— Steve McGrory (@SteveMcGrory2) July 10, 2021
Eddy was at least trying.. 45 mins and ntcham wouldn’t even track back.. no one would want him watching him today..not even the local Sunday league team..
— mike ????? (@mikehoops67) July 10, 2021
We got worse when the likes of Ntcham and eddy came on totally lost the zip in our play without mcgregor
— stuart mckay (@malky67) July 10, 2021
Looked like Ntcham and Christie were just going through the motions ? Don’t know why any of the want away players should be involved when their eyes are only on their next move, play the guys who want to be here not the ones that don’t, that goes for Eddy and Ajer too
— Yogi il Tempo (@Yogi_theTim) July 10, 2021
