Freed Celtic midfielder Olivier Ntcham is in talks with English Championship struggles Swansea about a move to the Welsh side. And with for former Celtic teammate Ryan Christie looking like moving to Bournemouth, the two ex-Celts look set to face up against each other this season.
Both clubs will be anxious to get back into the Premier League but Swansea have got off to a disappointing start and are currently in 19th spot having record one win and one draw with three defeats in their first five games. Bournemouth meanwhile are undefeated in their first five matches but have just two wins and three draws, which gets them into sixth place ahead of the expected arrival of Ryan Christie.
Ntcham was set to join AEK Athens earlier in the summer but the Greek side were led to believe that the former Manchester City midfielder was a free agent. Celtic though still had a year option on Ntcham’s contract and possibly in an attempt to flush out some revenue from the club Celtic paid £4.5m for flop goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas. That didn’t work with the canny Greeks walking away from the Ntcham deal, leaving Celtic a few weeks later to terminate the French midfielders contract by mutual consent.
Now though Ntcham could be back in the game with Swansea.
“Free since leaving Celtic after a loan from OM, Olivier Ntcham could join Swansea. It is not yet done, discussions in progress,” reports Benjamin Quarez, sports journalist at Le Parisien.
Libre depuis son départ du Celtic après un prêt à l’OM, Olivier Ntcham pourrait rejoindre Swansea. Ce n’est pas encore fait, discussions en cours #mercato @leparisiensport
— Benjamin Quarez (@B_Quarez) August 31, 2021
Olivier Ntcham, ex Man City and Celtic, currently undergoing a medical at Swansea City. Free agent & talented midfielder who can operate at No8 or as a No10. Deal not complete yet – still some financial details to finalise. Story via @TheAthleticUK: https://t.co/8udveS1XJc
— Stuart James (@stujames75) August 31, 2021