---
title: "Celtic: Hoops insist Olivier Ntcham will not be sold in January"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/celtic-hoops-insist-olivier-ntcham-will-not-be-sold-in-january/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "SPFL News"
published: "2019-12-06T07:50:04Z"
modified: "2019-12-06T07:50:04Z"
---

# Celtic: Hoops insist Olivier Ntcham will not be sold in January

**Celtic have insisted that midfielder Olivier Ntcham will not be sold in January and that any interest from prospective suitors will not be entertained.**

[Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-celtic-to-block-january-exit-of-10m-valued-player-after-crunch-talks/) reported that the Hoops will not countenance the potential sale of the 23-year-old in the winter transfer window.

According to [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-celtic-to-block-january-exit-of-10m-valued-player-after-crunch-talks/), the club held discussions with the player’s representatives last week and made it clear that they would flatly reject any offers that might be made for him in January.

[Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/exclusive-celtic-to-block-january-exit-of-10m-valued-player-after-crunch-talks/) claimed that Ntcham’s representatives wanted assurances from Celtic about his future at Parkhead.

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/THE-BREAKDOWN.png)

Ntcham’s future at Celtic appeared to be in doubt earlier this year when he gave an interview to [L’Equipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Article/Olivier-ntcham-celtic-glasgow-si-j-allais-a-marseille-je-m-epanouirais/1037244) in which he said he was disappointed not to get a move to Porto in 2018 and said that he would “blossom” at Marseille.

Hoops manager Neil Lennon [publicly admonished the French midfielder](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11787/11759234/celtic-boss-neil-lennon-not-satisfied-with-olivier-ntcham-transfer-comments) over those comments but, as reported by the [Daily Record](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/neil-lennon-oliver-ntcham-celtic-18324167), the pair soon buried the hatchet.

The 23-year-old has bounced back from that episode to [score four goals and set up another four in 22 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/olivier-ntcham/leistungsdaten/spieler/224088) so far this season, including the stoppage time winner away to Lazio which sealed Celtic’s passage to the last 32 of the Europa League (as per [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50253786)).

He needs just two more goals to match his return from last season, while he has already quadrupled his output of assists from 2018/19. \[[via TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/celtic-fc/leistungsdaten/verein/371/plus/1?reldata=%262018)\]

Despite those contributions, however, Ntcham is not a fixed presence in the Hoops’ line-up, having made just six starts in the Premiership and one in the Europa League group stage in the current campaign. \[[via TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/olivier-ntcham/leistungsdaten/spieler/224088)\]

The attacking midfielder has been outshone by Ryan Christie, who in a [similar role](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/celtic-fc/leistungsdaten/verein/371/plus/1?reldata=%262019) has [scored 16 goals and set up another 10](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/celtic-fc/leistungsdaten/verein/371/plus/1?reldata=%262019) so far this term, while central midfielder Scott Brown bagged his [fifth goal of the season](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/celtic-fc/leistungsdaten/verein/371/plus/1?reldata=%262019) with the [stoppage time winner against Hamilton](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3201332) on Wednesday night. Callum McGregor is also on [five goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/celtic-fc/leistungsdaten/verein/371/plus/1?reldata=%262019) for the season.

Ntcham has also posted a lower passing success rate (74.6%) than the likes of Christie (80.7%), Brown (82.4%) and McGregor (90.9%) this term. \[[via WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/103/Show/Scotland-Celtic)\]

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Verdict.png)

Ntcham deserves credit for winning back Lennon’s faith after his ill-judged L’Equipe interview in the summer, while he followed up his heroics against Lazio with a “clever, impactful, defensively strong and offensively creative” in the Europa League win over Rennes last week, in the words of [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50489724)‘s Tom English.

Celtic’s refusal to consider any prospective bids for the Frenchman is therefore a sensible one, but with his goal return and passing metrics inferior to midfield team-mates Brown, Christie and McGregor, the 23-year-old could still do more to earn a more regular starting place at Parkhead.

***Celtic fans, are the club right to refute any possible interest in Ntcham? Comment below with your views!***