Olivier Ntcham has appeared to reject the chance to become a Cameroon player. As reported in The Celtic Star at the start of November, Ntcham was offered the chance to switch allegiances from France to Cameroon after new boss Toni Conceição added him to the standby list; however, the Frenchman is focusing on Celtic and remaining with Les Bleus.
As reported in the latest issue of The Celtic View, Ntcham confirmed that after a period of reflection, he suggested that he would be rejecting the opportunity to switch his International allegiances as he was focusing first on getting back into Celtic’s Starting XI.
“I’ve always been thinking about my decision. The Cameroon manager approached me last year about it we talked and I told him my targets.
“We spoke again recently when I was preparing for the Europa League games but I told him international football was not my priority right now because I had to make sure I got back in the Celtic team first.
“Once I do that, then I can think about football. My parents are both from Cameroon but I’ve never been there myself. I think my parents would be happier if I played with France.”
Ntcham was the the orchestrator behind Celtic’s Sacking of Rome earlier this month when his late chip sealed Celtic’s victory and sent the Bhoys into the Last 32 of the Europa League. Any excuse to show his goal…
Ntcham Scored against Lazio pic.twitter.com/Hj0lbDfEw0
— Ntchams Goal Everyday (@ntchams) November 19, 2019
When he is in the mood Ntcham is clearly one of the most gifted footballers at Celtic. His glory goal in Rome – the most euphoric Celtic moment since Tom Rogic’s last minute winner in the Invincible season Scottish Cup Final in May 2017 – will hopefully see him push on and become a regular starter in Neil Lennon’s exciting Celtic team.
🍀 @OlivierNtcham ⚽️🙌🎉#UEL | @CelticFC pic.twitter.com/1HHcCu4Vq3
— UEFA.com DE (@UEFAcom_de) November 20, 2019