Having sold Morgan Sanson to Aston Villa in the last week of the winter market, Marseille replaced him with Olivier Ntcham on deadline day.
The midfielder arrived at the club on a loan deal from Celtic and this move caused a lot of controversy at the French club.
André Villas-Boas wasn’t in favour of the Celtic owned player’s arrival and made his dissatisfaction public, just days after the window closed.
This forced the Ligue 1 side to suspended Villas-Boas and appoint Nasser Larguet as their interim manager.
Marseille’s director of football, Pablo Longoria, defended his and his club’s decision to take the 24-year-old on a temporary deal from Neil Lennon’s side.
France U21 manager Sylvain Ripoll knows the Celtic man very well, having managed him for two years between 2017 and 2019. Ripoll is of the belief Marseille were ‘not wrong’ to take Ntcham from Celtic.
“He’s a modern midfielder capable of both defending well and also projecting himself and having an impact on the offensive phase of his team. He’s a player that I really appreciate and I think he’s a very good signing for Marseille” Ripoll told Téléfoot, as relayed by Le10 Sport.
This view is also shared by Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard, who expressed his views on the Ntcham’s transfer to Marseille.
“I see him winning and succeeding. He has the qualities, and mentally he’s ready. So, I don’t see any reason why he doesn’t succeed because he’s a player with a strong character. So, I think between the Marseille fans and him, it’s going to be a good mix,” Edouard told Téléfoot.
