Celtic Close In on Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy

Wilfried Nancy is now the man Celtic are moving towards as they look to replace Brendan Rodgers, according to talkSPORT. The 48-year-old previously worked as an assistant under Thierry Henry at Montreal before taking the reins himself in 2021.

Bodo/Glimt’s Kjetil Knutsen was also being considered, but Nancy is understood to be viewed as the more attainable option at this stage. Other names linked to the vacancy in recent weeks have included Robbie Keane and Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna, while sources quickly played down talk of a return for Ange Postecoglou.

O’Neill remains in interim charge for the trip to Feyenoord. If Nancy is appointed in time, his first match could be Celtic’s trip to Hibernian on Sunday or the home Scottish Premiership fixture against Dundee on December 3.

Who Is Wilfried Nancy?

Nancy’s playing career was modest, spent largely in the lower reaches of French football, most notably with Toulon in the second tier during the 1990s. He began coaching in 2005 but did not take his first solo managerial job until 2021, stepping up at Montreal following Henry’s dismissal.

He won the Canadian Championship in his debut season and earned a full-time contract. He then took Montreal to second in the Eastern Conference and a play-off quarter-final. Columbus Crew appointed him ahead of the 2023 season and he repaid them with an MLS Cup, following it with a second-place finish in the league and conference, a Leagues Cup win and the league’s Coach of the Year award the following campaign.

Those credentials make Nancy an intriguing candidate for a club searching for fresh direction after Rodgers resigned following a 3-1 defeat to Hearts that left Celtic eight points behind the league leaders.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but Nancy has built a strong record in MLS as Celtic continue their search for Rodgers’ successor.