According to Football Insider, Celtic have slashed Olivier Ntcham's asking price in this January transfer window to just £7m.

What's the story?

Reports in recent weeks had suggested Neil Lennon's side had given the Frenchman the green light to leave the reigning Scottish Premiership champions this month.

Now, Football Insider claim that the Hoops have cut Ntcham's asking price from around £12m in the last transfer window back in the summer, to just £7m this time around.

The report adds that the Bhoys feel like they've got no hope of getting more than £10m in the current market, and that "a combination of Ntcham’s up-and-down form, a difficult market and the player’s contract situation mean Celtic will sell for around the £7m mark".

Lawwell disaster

While Ntcham's time at Celtic Park is clearly coming to an end, the Hoops' reported decision to slash his asking price even further is a major disaster from the likes of Peter Lawwell and co.

The midfielder still has 18 months left on his current contract, so there's absolutely no reason to take such a kamikaze approach to selling him.

Lennon will of course want to ensure his squad is full of players who actually want to be at the club, but they're throwing away a decent chunk of money by almost cutting Ntcham's value by a half.

The Hoops, much like many other clubs across Europe, need every single penny they can get, and despite him falling out favour at Celtic Park this season, Ntcham remains a valuable asset.

Dubbed a "terrific talent" by Lennon, the £15k-per-week ace is still only 24, and is nowhere near reaching the peak years of his career - in fact it was only last season that he scored eight goals and provided a further four assists in all competitions.

Lawwell would be making a terrible mistake by letting Ntcham leave on the cheap this January.