Swansea boss Russell Martin told the official Swansea website he approached several Celtic coaches and former Celtic players about Olivier Ntcham before deciding to sign him.
Oli was let go from his Celtic contract earlier this summer and took a bit of time to find a new club.
The midfielder’s career has stalled between not getting game time at Celtic and the ill-fated loan spell at Marseille.
Manager’s have to do their due diligence on players — not only if they’re good enough on the field but what type of person they are off it.
Martin was told Oli was worth taking a chance on. Celtic legend Scott Brown was mentioned by name when Martin spoke about Oli.
“I spoke to Scott Brown about him. I spoke to him and a couple of other guys who aren’t at Celtic anymore. A couple members of staff, too, who I’ve worked with in the Scotland set-up that work for Celtic.
“They all spoke really highly of Olivier. He’s played at a club with a huge expectancy to win every single week, he’s played in the Champions League.”
Ntcham had his moments at Celtic but after his second season — there was a feeling he wanted to leave. His goal against Lazio will go down in Celtic folklore. It was best for the club and the player to part this summer and we wish him all the best at Swansea.
