OLIVIER Ntcham last night insisted his Celtic team mate Moussa Dembele hasn’t been unsettled by the speculation over his future during the January transfer window and is poised to rediscover his form up front.

Dembele has only netted eight times in the 2017/18 campaign and has failed to hit the target in seven matches amid reports he is keen to move on to a Barclays Premier League club in England.

Brighton, Crystal Palace, Everton and Stoke City as well as Roma in Italy have all been linked with multi-million pound moves for the striker, who scored 32 goals last season, this month.

Read more: Celtic set to seal loan deal for Chelsea playmaker Charly Musonda while Patrick Roberts gives Hoops a boost​

However, Brendan Rodgers last week stressed he wanted to keep the 21-year-old, who has two and a half years remaining on his current contract, at Parkhead and he now needs the centre forward more than ever.

Leigh Griffiths suffered a recurrence of a calf strain after scoring the only goal of the Ladbrokes Premiership game against Hibernian at Celtic Park on Saturday and is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

Ntcham, who plays in the France Under-21 side alongside Dembele as well as the in the Celtic team, is confident his close friend, compatriot and team mate can net regularly in the remaining domestic and European games of the season.

“Everything is fine,” he said. “He is nice. He doesn’t read the stories about him. He just concentrates on what is happening on the pitch. That is it. If you start to worry about what is being said you lose your head.

“When you have pressure on you that means you are doing good work on the pitch. You have to be focused on the pitch and that is it. He is my friend. I think his focus is strong.

“It is not about Leigh, it is just about Moussa. He is a young player and I think he is feeling good here. We don’t worry about the stories. For me, he is here and he is going to be here until I don’t know when but this season anyway.

“I am disappointed for Leigh because when he came on in the last game he scored and then he scored again on Saturday. It is disappointing to lose him again now. But I think we have a good squad. If Leigh is injured we are a little bit disappointed, but Moussa and Edouard can come in and lead the line. It is good for us.”

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Dembele spent time on the sidelines at the end of last season and the start of this term with a hamstring injury and Ntcham feels he needs a run of starts, which he will surely get now Griffiths is out, to get back to the level he was at last season.

“Every time you play you get better,” he said. “If you don’t play it is a little bit difficult to come into the game and start the game. You have to get the rhythm.”

Rodgers is set to bring in Charly Musonda on loan from Chelsea today and Ntcham, who came up against the Belgian attacking midfielder during his time at Manchester City, believes he will be an excellent acquisition.

“I have played against him two or three times when he was at Chelsea,” he said. “He is a really good player.”

Meanwhile, Nthcam has revealed that he is desperate to help Celtic atone for the 4-0 loss against Hearts that ended their record-breaking 69 game unbeaten domestic run last month when he plays against the Tynecastle club at Parkhead tomorrow.

“It is important for the team and for the supporters as well that we beat Hearts after the defeat the last time we played them,” he said. “Sometimes it is good to lose. When you lose you learn. So it is not bad.

“Sometimes it is like that. Sometimes everything is good, sometimes everything is bad. We have to take it and learn from it. If you don’t play 100 per cent you can beaten. I think in this game they want to win more than us.

“I think it was a good result against Hibs, but I think in the game we can improve a little bit and keep the ball a little bit more. But it was a good result for us. Everybody is happy. I feel better. I am a little bit tired but that is normal. I feel better on the pitch now.”

Ntcham, though, admitted the loss of Craig Gordon, who could be out of action for the remainder of the season after suffering a medial collateral ligament injury against Hibs on Saturday, is a blow to Celtic.

“Everybody was disappointed after the game,” he said. “It’s true. He’s a good goalkeeper. Every time we are in trouble in a game he makes a save. He has helped us a lot.”