Earlier today, we covered a report from France looking at Olivier Ntcham’s current situation at Marseille.
Arriving in far from ideal circumstances, hours after André Villas-Boas resigned from the Ligue 1 side because of the Celtic man’s transfer, the player had to first quarantine and then get back in shape.
He made his debut against Auxerre in the Coupe de France, but has rarely seen the pitch since, totalling just 27 minutes of football.
This led L’Equipe to suggest there was a ‘reasonable’ chance Ntcham could return to Parkhead come the end of the campaign, but current interim manager Nasser Larguet decided to clear the air.
In a press conference, relayed by RMC Sport, he said: “Today, he’s suffering a bit because of the good health of Boubacar Kamara and Pape Gueye. But it’s true he’s got as much chance of playing as the others. He’s a real professional. A real boost for the team.
“Every player has a role to play over the coming games. It’s true that Olivier Ntcham is on his way. Honestly, he’s a great guy, works a lot. He’s done a lot of extra training sessions. He came to a few extras because of that period of not playing. He’s a real professional”.
That should allay a few fears in Scotland that the reported €6m option to buy won’t be triggered come the end of the season, but the final say will inevitably come down to Jorge Sampaoli.
The former Sevilla manager was recently appointed as Villas-Boas’ official successor and should take up his role in the coming week or so depending on the length of his quarantine.
