It came out of nowhere on transfer deadline day, but Olivier Ntcham to Marseille became one of the bigger stories of the day in France.
The Celtic midfielder, who’d barely played under Neil Lennon since December for a variety of reasons, was sent to the south of France on loan with an option to buy at €6m.
Well, we say sent, but the former France U21 international never travelled on Monday due to a plane issue, with his trip postponed to today.
He will arrive in Marseille with the goal of replacing Morgan Sanson, but he doesn’t do so as the first option.
L’Equipe on Tuesday look at the whole transfer and reveal the Celtic player was actually Pablo Longoria’s ‘seventh choice’ behind Lovro Madjer, Mahmoud Dahoud, Francis Coquelin, Angelo Fulgini, Imran Louza and Amine Adli, and ‘wasn’t really on the list to start with’.
In the end, it’s a body that will help André Villas-Boas’ squad, but the decision to bring him in on loan with an option to buy means the club can now monitor him over the coming months to try and work out if he’s worth the €6m.
Those in charge at Parkhead will be hoping so, but now it’s entirely up to the player to repay that trust.
