Wilfried Nancy is close to taking over as Celtic’s new manager, according to BBC Scotland. The club is currently at an advanced stage of talks with the French head coach of the Columbus Crew, an MLS team.
Brendan Rodgers’ resignation last month left Celtic without a permanent manager. The last five games have been managed by former manager Martin O’Neill with assistance from Shaun Maloney. With four league victories in a row, O’Neill has brought some stability home, despite his team losing to Midtjylland in the Europa League.
Although they still have a game in hand, Celtic is currently four points behind league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership despite their progress. With four points thus far, the club now gets ready to play Feyenoord in their fifth Europa League group-stage match on Thursday. Additionally, they will defend their championship against St Mirren, whom they narrowly defeated 1-0 over the weekend, in the Premier Sports Cup final next month.
If Nancy is hired as expected, he will take over a club where there are significant conflicts between supporters and leadership.
Due to continuous cries to “sack the board” and taunts directed at Ross Desmond, son of majority shareholder Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s AGM was called off last week. O’Neill himself emphasized the need for “unity” following Saturday’s victory in Paisley, recognizing supporters’ dissatisfaction with the club’s management.
Wilfried Nancy is who?
Before moving to Canada to become a coach, Nancy started his playing career in France, including a stint with Toulon.
After Thierry Henry resigned, he took over as head coach of CF Montreal in 2021, and the team won the Canadian Championship that year. He took over at Columbus Crew in 2022 and led them to the 2023 MLS Cup and the 2024 Leagues Cup, winning MLS Coach of the Year in the process.
The Crew placed 12th overall and seventh in the Eastern Conference this season. Nancy has played in 215 games throughout his career in North America. His first managerial position in European football would be with Celtic.
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