Ntcham insists he was never tempted by £14m Porto deal
great last season and it was like winning a trophy for me to hear this, so I was pleased with that.
“When the market was closed, we spoke about that [interest from Porto].
“The manager, myself, my agent and the club all spoke and we decided to have a talk to sign the new deal.”
Ntcham’s fellow countryman, Moussa Dembele, acrimoniously engineered a move out of Celtic on the final day of the transfer window after Lyon made their move for him but his compatriot was not of a similar mind after feeling that he had developed his game under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers.
“If he was going to go, life is like that,” he said. “Of course I miss him, he was my friend, but we stay in touch all of the time and he is pleased for me that I have agreed this deal to stay at Celtic.
“It’s good to have the other French-speaking boys around the club, even though it’s not the case that we are always together.
“Even when you are on the pitch, there can be times when you may not understand something, but there is always someone there who can translate the message and manage to get the point across.
“I have improved a lot in all aspects of my game since coming to Celtic. When I was at Genoa, I didn’t score a lot of goals.
“I have improved in that area.
“The manager told me when I signed that I needed to score more to become the complete midfielder. He said that to me on the first day.”
Having made a decision to stay at Celtic for the long-term, Ntcham’s next call to make his where his international allegiance will lie.
Capped by France up until under-21 level, the midfielder is also eligible to play for Cameroon through both Cameroonian parents but Ntcham will not be hurried into making a decision.
“The situation is that I am playing with the French under-21 team now and that is what I am focusing on,” said the midfielder.
“Cameroon have been in contact with me but to make a good decision, you have to take your time. They are happy for me to do that.
“Even if they weren’t, it’s me who is going to decide what happens. They haven’t given me a time for when they want me to decide.
“It is [an honour] but in life you have to take your time when you make a decision like this.
“I am with France and we have a competition next summer so I am focused on that.”