Wilfried Nancy on the Verge of Becoming Celtic’s New Manager

Wilfried Nancy has experienced notable success in Major League Soccer (MLS) but has yet to step onto the European coaching stage.

According to BBC Scotland, Nancy is on the verge of being appointed as the new manager of Celtic Football Club. Negotiations between the Scottish champions and the French head coach of Columbus Crew have progressed significantly.

Celtic has been on the lookout for a new manager since the resignation of Brendan Rodgers last month. In the interim, former manager Martin O’Neill, assisted by Shaun Maloney, has taken charge of the team.

O’Neill has impressively won all four of his domestic matches since returning to the club, although he faced a setback in the Europa League, suffering a defeat to Midtjylland.

Currently, Celtic trails Hearts by four points at the summit of the Scottish Premiership, although they have a game in hand.

Celtic will visit Feyenoord for their fifth Europa League match on Thursday, having accumulated four points thus far. Additionally, they are set to defend their Premier Sports Cup title next month against St Mirren, who lost 1-0 to O’Neill’s side last Saturday.

If Nancy is appointed as expected, he will begin his tenure at Celtic amidst growing tensions between the club’s management and its supporters. Last week, an annual meeting was abruptly halted when shareholders voiced their discontent with comments made by Ross Desmond, son of significant shareholder Dermot Desmond, alongside chants of “sack the board.”

Following Saturday’s victory in Paisley, O’Neill emphasized the need for “some sort of unification” within the club, as fans have called for changes in the club’s management following their victory over St Mirren.

Nancy’s coaching journey began in his native France, including a stint with Toulon, before moving to Canada to pursue coaching. After Thierry Henry resigned as head coach of CF Montreal in 2021, Nancy took over, leading the team to win the Canadian Championship that same year.

In 2022, he transitioned to Columbus Crew, guiding the team to their first MLS Cup in 2023 and winning the Leagues Cup, which features clubs from both Mexico and the United States. He was also honored as the MLS Coach of the Year.

However, this year, Columbus Crew finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and ranked 12th overall.

In total, Nancy has managed 215 games in North America, and should he join Celtic, it would mark his inaugural managerial role in Europe.