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Chris Sutton tips Celtic to dump £4.5m signing Olivier Ntcham

Celtic's Olivier Ntcham (L) and Rosenborg's Anders Trondsen vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League second round, second leg qualifying f...
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Olivier Ntcham has been making headlines for the wrong reasons this summer.

Olivier Ntcham (FRA) during the match between France and Luxembourg European Under-21 Championship 2019 Qualifying Round  at Stade La Meinau in France on September 11, 2018.

Chris Sutton has told The Record that he expects Celtic to sell Oliver Ntcham before the transfer window closes.

The French midfielder is back training with the Hoops’ first team after a number of public comments about wanting to leave Scotland.

Earlier this month, Ntcham admitted that he was flattered about speculation linking him with Marseille, before revealing that he wanted to leave Celtic last summer when Porto showed an interest.

Bhoys boss Neil Lennon revealed that even the playing staff at Lennoxtown were unimpressed with Ntcham, who cost £4.5 million in 2017, but The Scottish Sun reported last week that the Northern Irishman had resolved the situation after ‘clear-the-air’ talks with the former Manchester City prospect.

Nevertheless, Celtic legend Sutton does not believe that there’s a route back into the team for the 23-year-old.

He told The Record: “Olivier Ntcham looks as though his race is run at Parkhead and on the occasions he has also been pushed into a more offensive position it again became a little bit too slow and predictable.”

Ntcham hasn’t been playing like someone who is happy to be in Glasgow for a while.

In fact, since Lennon replaced Brendan Rodgers in February, the young Frenchman’s form has been erratic, often struggling to make the first XI.

If Lennon can salvage the situation then it’s smart for Celtic, because Ntcham, despite what he said, is a quality player on his day, but if it gets to a point where he’s a distraction then selling is the only option.

Olivier Ntcham (21) steps on referee’s line spray forcing the bottle to explode white foam all over pitch during the UEFA Champions League Qualifiing match between Celtic and AEK Athens at...