Celtic looking to get Wilfried Nancy as new head coach as they hope to have Frenchman in charge next weekend.
Celtic accelerate move to take Wilfried Nancy from Columbus Crew as new manager.
As Wilfried Nancy, the manager of the Columbus Crew, gets closer to taking Brendan Rodgers’ place in Glasgow, Celtic will expedite negotiations with him over the weekend. According to reports, Celtic told the Major League Soccer team about their intentions on Friday. Any money needed to entice the Frenchman is not thought to be a problem. Nancy is thought to be excited about the change.
When Celtic travel to St Mirren the next weekend, they aim to have Nancy in place, ending Martin O’Neill’s temporary tenure. O’Neill was scheduled to meet Dermot Desmond, the primary stakeholder of Celtic, in London on Friday. In late October, Rodgers’ second stint in Glasgow came to an acrimonious conclusion when Desmond publicly criticised the former Liverpool manager.
When Nancy was mentioned as a potential Celtic manager at the time of Rodgers’ resignation, she was viewed as an outsider. He does, however, meet Celtic’s ideal profile of a young coach who can advance within their system and comply with transfer regulations. This regular season, Nancy, a former manager of Montreal, led the Columbus Crew to seventh place in the MLS Eastern Conference. The Crew lost to Ohio rivals FC Cincinnati in the first round of the MLS playoffs.
Although Kieran McKenna was once thought to be the front-runner for the Celtic position, the team has not contacted Ipswich about their manager. Given his compensation clause and anticipated salary, which put him at the top of Celtic’s pay structure, McKenna has shown little desire to leave Portman Road. Robbie Keane was also being considered. Kjetil Knutsen of Bodø/Glimt has frequently been connected to Celtic. Nancy was Celtic’s first choice, according to Paul Tisdale, head of football operations.