Ntcham flies in as Rodgers poised to clinch deal

Celtic manager Brendan Rogers is close to bringing another new player to the club, with Manchester City’s young French midfielder Olivier Ntcham arriving in Glasgow yesterday.

Reports in the French media claim the deal is 90 per cent completed, and Rodgers, although refusing to name Ntcham, admited that a new signing was imminent after his side’s 9-0 friendly win over Shamrock Rovers on Saturday.

Rodgers said: “Yes, we have the player in. He’s going through a medical, all is going well and hopefully it will be announced soon.”

Ntcham is a 21-year-old midfielder who started his career with Le Havre before moving to City in 2015. For the last two seasons, he has been on loan at Serie A club Genoa.

Meanwhile, Rodgers reckons Celtic got a taste of things to come from Jonny Hayes, the £1.3 million capture from Aberdeen, after watching the Irishman open his account against Shamrock.

Rodgers said: “He has settled in very well off the field. We don’t need to rush him but he’s going to make a big contribution to the squad and you saw that today in the half-hour he was on, when he showed his pace and his crossing ability. ”