A leading Greek sports journalist has provided an update on the upcoming Olivier Ntcham move to AEK Athens. The Celtic midfielder who spend the second half of last season on loan at Marseille has as we reported ten days ago agreed personal terms with Celtic’s 2018 Champions League qualifier opponents and is now waiting until the end of this month when he believes he will become a free agent.
Celtic have a one year option on the former Manchester City midfielder’s contract but are unlikely to activate it thus allowing Ntcham to end his time in Scotland and complete the move to Greece. The deal agreed between the player and AEK is based on the assumption that Celtic will not elect to retain the player for another season as is their prerogative. This also explains Ntcham being a no-show as the contracted Celtic players not on international duty returned to Lennoxtown last week for pre-season training.
“AEK Athens officials are optimistic that Olivier Ntcham will be a free agent from July 1. Greek club and French player have agreed personal terms,” Giannis Chorianopoulos, the Editor in Chief at Sportime newspaper reports.
Chorianopoulos last summer broke the news that Celtic were going to sign Vasilis Barkas from AEK in a £4.5m deal. It was hoped that Celtic could do a deal with AEK on outstanding scheduled payments on that transfer to allow the Ntcham deal to proceed but it looks like the Greeks and the Frenchman are prepared to run down the clock, see out June and are confident that Celtic will not take up their option.
It would put a major spanner in the works if Dom McKay did just that on 30 June and would leave AEK having to walk away from their deal with the Celtic Want Away or have to negotiate a transfer fee with McKay.
Maybe the new CEO along with Ange Postecoglou just want rid of the player that The Celtic Star almost two years ago described as “Pusillanimous Ntcham”…
AEK Athens officials are optimistic that Olivier Ntcham will be a free agent from July 1. Greek club and French player have agreed personal terms#AEK #Celtic #CelticFC
— Giannis Chorianopoulos (@choria80) June 21, 2021
