Swansea City midfielder Olivier Ntcham is edging closer to signing for newly-promoted Turkish Super Lig side Samsunspor, according to a report from Sports Digitale.
The former Manchester City academy graduate has played with the Welsh side ever since joining permanently in 2021 on a free transfer following his release from Scottish giants Celtic.
During his two-year stint at the Swansea.com Stadium, Ntcham put in some impressive performances and even earned himself a call-up to the Cameroon national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Now, it looks as though the midfielder’s time in Wales is coming to an end. Sports Digitale [via Football League World] are claiming that Ntcham will be in Istanbul on Wednesday to sign his contract, completing the deal.
Samsunspor have also recently acquired Marc Bola from Middlesbrough just three weeks ago and so there will be a familiar face at the club for the ex-Marseille loanee.
Ntcham contract expiring
Ntcham’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and so would be free to speak to other clubs in January, meaning the Cameroonian could have walked away for nothing in 12 months’ time.
Nevertheless, the Swans will now get a fee for the 27-year-old, although his absence will still leave a gaping hole in the squad that needs to be filled.
Despite being a central midfielder by nature, only Joel Piroe managed to outscore the former France youth international last term under Russell Martin and so Ntcham’s boots will be hard to fill.
Writer’s View
This deal is unfortunate for Swansea as they were practically forced to sell one of their star players to avoid letting him walk away with no compensation returned to the club next summer.
However, at least now Michael Duff can use the fee to try and replace Ntcham’s role within the team, although this sounds much easier said than done.
