West Brom and Southampton both have an interest in Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham.
That’s according to Football Insider, who claim that the Baggies are monitoring his situation ahead of the January window, whereas the Saints have a longstanding interest in the 24-year-old.
Ntcham, previously on the books of Manchester City, has made 145 appearances for Celtic since 2017, scoring 24 goals and providing 13 assists during that time. [Transfermarkt]
However, we feel as if the Saints need to let the Baggies win the race for the 24-year-old in the upcoming winter window.
Ntcham has featured in 21 games for Celtic this season, turning out mainly in central and attacking midfield roles. [Transfermarkt]
He’s netted one goal and provided one assist in the Scottish Premiership this season, averaging a WhoScored rating of 6.47.
That score is the club’s second-worst out of players who have featured in seven or more league games – with forward Patryk Klimala the only player with a worse rating (6.40).
The midfielder was described as ‘lazy’ by Celtic fans during the club’s 4-1 Europa League defeat to Sparta Prague last week, something you don’t associate with any Ralph Hasenhuttl player.
The Frenchman failed to track his man from the halfway line as Lukas Julis scored late on, and should he join St Mary’s, you’d expect Hasenhuttl to stick with his 4-4-2 shape.
Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse currently offer the perfect balance in the heart of the midfield, with Hasenhuttl also having summer signing Ibrahima Diallo, Will Smallbone and Alex Jankewitz as alternative options.
Bringing Ntcham in may require a change of system, and with the 24-year-old valued at £12m earlier this year, we feel the Saints could put those funds to better use.
