Part of this nine in a row run as assistant manager to Ronny Deila, John Collins, is in the media today outlining exactly why Celtic should keep hold of Olivier Ntcham.

The former Celtic midfielder and assistant manager said: “Olivier is an excellent player and I’d be sad to see him leave Scottish football that’s for sure. It’ll come down to the manager’s decision but he’s a very good footballer, he’s in a high bracket and obviously you’d want to keep him. Players with his ability aren’t easily replaced, you need to weigh that up as the boy is maturing into that special talent we all knew him to be,” as reported by Scottish Sun.

Ntcham has shown glimpses of greatness with a few superb performances in his time at the club. He also scored in the cup final to secure the double treble, whilst this season he wrote his place in Celtic folklore by handing the Hoops their first win on Italian soil with his last gasp chip against Lazio.

Despite his talent, he has lacked consistency and is often on the bench. However, Collins explained why we should not look past his ability. “People forget that he’s still a very young player and he’s also had injuries which have held him back,” Collins said.

Ntcham once said that the standard of Scottish football was poor and others have commented that he needs to join a stronger league to reach his potential. By contrast, Collins pointed out: “Hopefully he’s now over those injuries and can now continue developing. The argument that he needs to move to a top league to develop his potential isn’t accurate. He’s playing Champions League and Europa League football every season with Celtic and not many clubs provide that kind of platform year on year.”