Marseille are bracing themselves for a big bid for Morgan Sanson that would have a knock-on effect in their pursuit of Olivier Ntcham.
The French giants are keen on the Celtic midfielder but need to offload some of their big hitters before they can start moving for their main targets.
West Ham United are in talks with Marseille over midfielder Sanson and the fee quoted is more than £30million. He has also been linked with Premier League rivals Wolves.
The Ligue 1 side have also been trying to offload injury-prone Dutchman Kevin Strootman with no success.
But the sale of his midfielder team-mate, Sanson, could give head coach Andres Villas-Boas the funds he needs to rebuild – and Ntcham is high on his wanted list.
Porto were at the front of the queue and had been trying to land Ntcham since January but they are also refusing to meet Celtic’s asking price and could look elsewhere if they can’t agree a fee.
Reports have suggested there has already been a bid from Porto and further news has since come out of France that Celtic are looking for around £12million for the 23-year-old.
Porto hold the advantage of being able to offer Champions League football, while Marseille only qualified for the Europa League but that won’t deter them from pushing for Ntcham.
Celtic bought him for just over £5m from Manchester City two years ago and are looking to maximise their return.
