Wilfried Nancy Set for Celtic Manager Role Amid Club Turmoil

Wilfried Nancy, who has achieved considerable success in Major League Soccer (MLS), is poised to be appointed as the new manager of Celtic FC, as reported by BBC Scotland.

Advanced negotiations are currently underway between the Scottish champions and Nancy, the head coach of Columbus Crew. Celtic has been in search of a new manager since Brendan Rodgers resigned last month. In the interim, former manager Martin O’Neill, along with assistant Shaun Maloney, has overseen the team’s last five matches.

Under O’Neill’s guidance, Celtic has won all four domestic fixtures; however, they suffered a defeat to Midtjylland in the Europa League. Currently, Hearts leads the Scottish Premiership, holding a four-point advantage over the defending champions, although Celtic has a game in hand.

Celtic is set to face Feyenoord in their fifth Europa League match this Thursday, having secured four points so far. They will also defend their Premier Sports Cup title in an upcoming final against St Mirren, who recently lost 1-0 to O’Neill’s team.

Should Nancy be confirmed as manager, he will take charge of Celtic amidst existing tensions between the club and its supporters. Last week, an annual meeting was disrupted when shareholders expressed their dissatisfaction with comments made by Ross Desmond, leading to chants of “sack the board.” Following the victory over St Mirren, O’Neill emphasized the need for “some sort of unification” within the club, in response to fan calls for changes in its management.

Before moving into coaching, Nancy played in his native France, including a stint with Toulon. He transitioned to coaching in Canada, ultimately taking over at CF Montreal after Thierry Henry’s resignation in 2021. Nancy led the team to the Canadian Championship later that year. He joined Columbus Crew in 2022, where he guided the team to victory in the MLS Cup in 2023 and the Leagues Cup the previous year, earning him the title of MLS Coach of the Year.

Despite this success, Columbus Crew finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and twelfth overall this year. Overall, Nancy has managed 215 games in North America, and taking the helm at Celtic would mark his first managerial role in Europe.