Celtic signed Olivier Ntcham up to a new deal last week.
With January fast approaching, it looks like Celtic have learnt one big lesson. The Hoops are bound to receive interest from other clubs in Dedryck Boyata when the winter transfer window opens.
The Belgian, the subject of a £9 million bid from Fulham during the summer, looked set to leave Celtic after impressing at the World Cup in Russia, though Brendan Rodgers kept hold of him.
Boyata, contracted to Parkhead until 2019, is yet to sign a new deal and it looks like Rodgers must sell in January to avoid losing the star man on a free transfer six months later.
It’s disappointing that Celtic have found themselves in such a poor situation, with so much money at stake, but it’s reassuring that they have learned their lesson.
The Scottish Premiership champions signed Oliver Ntcham up to a new contract last week, effectively ensuring that he’ll be staying put for the foreseeable future.
Interest in Ntcham – a £4.5 million signing from Man City in 2017 [BBC Sport] – wouldn’t have been unthinkable in the coming months, considering that he was strongly linked with moves to Porto and West Ham during the summer transfer window.
But in all likelyhood he won’t be the subject of a transfer saga during the winter as a result of Celtic tying him down until 2022.
It’s an excellent decision and one that indicates that the Bhoys have no intention finding themselves in another Boyata-type debacle again for a while.
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