SOLD ON CELTIC BY FRENCH CONNECTION
Parkhead French connection was key to Celtic deal, says new Bhoy Olly
NEW Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham credited the French connection after completing a £4.5m transfer from Manchester City to become Brendan Rodgers’ third signing of the summer.
Ntcham follows Jonny Hayes and Kundai Benyu into Parkhead after agreeing a four-year deal, and revealed French under-21 team-mate Moussa Dembele helped persuade him sign up with the Scottish Treble winners.
The pair first played together when they were 14 years old, with Dembele filling in the new man on what he can expect in Scottish football and in the Old Firm games in particular.
Ntcham said: “I spoke to Moussa and also Dedryck
Boyata before I joined the club. Moussa told me it was great to win everything and that he was happy here.
“I have played with him since we were 14 years old in the French national team.
“He has told me about the atmosphere at Celtic Park and that the fans are unbelievable, and about the Rangers games.
“It is very exciting to join a club who were unbeatable last season. I hope we can do it again.”
The 21-year-old becomes one of Celtic’s most expensive signings of recent times –even eclipsing the fee paid for captain Scott Brown a decade ago – but he is not fazed by the expectation that may come with such a transfer tag.
He said: “The money does not put pressure on me. It makes me happy because the club is showing a lot of faith in me.
“When you buy a player, you buy him because he can do big things on the pitch. I hope this is what I can show for Celtic.
“I am a box-to-box midfielder. I like to play further up the pitch, but I can play all of the central midfield positions, whether it as a number eight, six or 10. I am also a strong, physical player.”
Ntcham spent two largely unfulfilling seasons on loan at Genoa in Italy but was persuaded by Rodgers that he will enjoy happier times at Celtic.
He explained: “The manager told me that the Italian league did not suit my style of football.
“He felt it was not the right fit for me because it was more tactical and everything was different. The manager believes I would be best suited to the Scottish game and the way Celtic play.
“Everything is different here. In Italy, when you play for Genoa, you know you are not going to finish first. The big clubs with the big money finish in that position.
“The main thing is to fight to stay in the league every season.
“But here at Celtic you want to win every single thing you play in.
“You are expected to win and I like that attitude.”
Ntcham doesn’t expect to feature against Linfield in the first qualifying round, but is eager to play in the Champions League later in the competition.
He added: “Not every player can play in the Champions League and that is why I came here.
“I never had the chance to play in that competition in my career before.
“I have heard that the Champions League is unbelievable to play in and that is what I want to do with Celtic.”