Celtic are accelerating talks to appoint Wilfried Nancy as their new manager, with discussions expected to progress over the weekend. The Columbus Crew boss is reportedly keen on the move, and compensation to release him from the MLS club is not expected to be an obstacle.
The Scottish champions hope to have Nancy in place before next weekend’s match against St Mirren, ending Martin O’Neill’s short caretaker spell. O’Neill met majority shareholder Dermot Desmond in London on Friday following Brendan Rodgers’ acrimonious exit in late October.
Initially seen as an outsider, Nancy now fits Celtic’s preferred profile — a progressive coach willing to work within the club’s transfer model. The Frenchman guided Columbus Crew to seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference this season before losing to FC Cincinnati in the playoffs.
Celtic had previously considered Kieran McKenna, Robbie Keane, and Kjetil Knutsen, but head of football operations Paul Tisdale has identified Nancy as his top target.
