Swapping Celtic for Marseille late in the January transfer window, Olivier Ntcham was the cause of much unwanted controversy.
The, at least public, reason for André Villas-Boas resigning, the midfielder’s transfer was the talk of deadline day in France, but that’s all behind him now.
Making his debut off the bench against Auxerre in the French Cup, the 25-year-old is trying to look forward and hopefully secure a permanent move to the Ligue 1 side.
His time at Parkhead seems all but over, rarely featuring under Neil Lennon from December onwards, which is hinted at by his former teammate and current Celtic defender Christopher Jullien, who spoke to La Provence about Ntcham.
He said: “He’d gone up a level at Celtic, but he’d started to stagnate because it’s still Scotland. He needed a new challenge. I can see him succeeding at Marseille. He has everything to do so. This stage will make him grow again. He has all the qualities to aim for a big league like Ligue 1”.
Jullien continued: “He wants to play everywhere, to bring his technical touch. Sometimes, he caused me problems in training because I wanted to win and he just wanted to play. He was our technical leaders. He’s never been someone who talks a lot, but a leader on the pitch with his actions and his touch”.
Next up for the Celtic loanee will be an important game against Bordeaux in Ligue 1, and while he might not start, still short physically compared to the rest of the team, he’ll be hoping for something similar to his 45 minute cameo against Auxerre.
