This is an ongoing debate that will never fail to get fans riled up – just how good is the standard of Scottish football? According to reports Olivier Ntcham is doing his best to discredit the league and force a move away.
The Herald reported this morning that Ntcham has hit out at the standard of the league, claiming he’s too good for it and wants to move to a bigger club.
MORE: Celtic star insists he wants to leave to further his development at a higher level
He said: “Celtic has given me a lot but leaving is the best solution for my development. We can do as many matches as we want but, with all due respect for my opponents, if the level in front is not high, you do not progress.
“I was really disappointed not to have gone to Porto last summer.
“I have played with players who have less quality than me and who are today in top clubs. Each player’s journey is different. I am 200% sure of myself. I am not saying that I am a complete player but I know that I will become one.”
This is quite the contrast to the comments he made to Celtic’s website in 2017 where he talked about how excited he was to win trophies and play in some big games for the club – so what’s changed?
The Sun reported on Saturday that the player was annoyed a move to Porto fell through last year, and that Marseille would represent an interesting option.
Ntcham was poor last season, he started 20 games but only started 1 since Neil Lennon took over from Brendan Rodgers, looking ponderous and far from impressive.
So it would make sense the player and his agent would need to try and shift the blame for his poor form. He’s not the first player to struggle and find out the standard is higher than expected. Joey Barton notably had a horrific Rangers spell where he looked out of his depth and The Herald also reported similar comments from Barton about the standard.
It’s clear Ntcham wants to go, The Herald article reported the transfer fee being at £13m, so who would pay this for a player who looked sluggish and poor last season?
It’s an interesting tactic to show your prospective new sides that you are willing to be disrespectful, disruptive and admit to putting in less than full effort. There’s no sign of a fee being agreed with a club yet.
He has scored 8 goals and provided 2 assists in his 42 league appearances.