Nir Bitton was out of favour with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers even before he brought in Olivier Ntcham and Kundai Benyu.
If Nir Bitton’s future at Celtic was uncertain already, news that the club have completed the signing of highly-rated Manchester City starlet Olivier Ntcham surely ends any hopes he might have had of resuscitating his career in Glasgow.
Yet, despite the arrival of 19-year-old Ivorian Eboue Kouassi from FC Krasnodar, Bitton remained at Parkhead. Though it’s hardly as if he played a major role as Celtic secured an undefeated domestic treble.
Bitton’s future appears more in doubt than ever
Across the entire 2016/17 season, Bitton started just 16 Scottish Premiership games with manager Brendan Rodgers omitting his languid stroll in favour of the industry and tenacity of Stuart Armstrong, Scott Brown and, latterly, Callum McGregor. Furthermore, if the magisterial Tom Rogic had not missed most of the run-in with injury, Bitton’s tally of appearances may have been even lower.
Eject Bitton
Now, however, the addition of not one but two promising young midfielders may have just confirmed the future of one of the most divisive players in Celtic’s squad.
According to the Scottish Sun, The Bhoys paid £4.5 million to land 21-year-old Ntcham from City. A powerful yet skilful midfielder likened somewhat inevitably to former Etihad team-mate Yaya Toure, the former France Under-16 captain was described as ‘one of the most exciting talents in world football’ by Andrea Mandorlini, his manager during a loan spell at Genoa.
Olivier Ntcham’s arrival has captured the imagination at Celtic
Furthermore, Celtic also fought off Premier League opposition to land 19-year-old Ipswich Town prodigy Kundai Benyu. Rodgers’ faith in youth means he could expect first-team opportunities next season.
And this all points to Bitton needing to leave Celtic for his own good this summer.
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