Celtic are in talks with multiple managers to find a replacement for Brendan Rodgers, who abruptly left the club at the end of October.
Rodgers resigned from Celtic in what was a shock exit before being targeted in a parting shot by major shareholder Dermot Desmond.
It was a major turn of events in Glasgow, with Celts second in the Scottish Premier League, and it came at a difficult time for the club.
Hearts are leading the way this season and chasing silverware, while there have been regular fan protests throughout the campaign.
Rodgers had tried numerous times to realign the fans with the club, in a bid to smooth things over after what was a nightmare transfer window for the Scottish giants.
But his attempts failed and he too would eventually fall out with the hierarchy and leave before New Year’s Eve.
Celtic’s shortlist as next manager is Wilfried Nancy
Celtic icon Martin O’Neill was appointed as interim manager alongside Shaun Maloney and he has won three of his first four games.
However, at the age of 73, it is unrealistic for the Irishman to take the full-time job long-term and the club are looking for a permanent manager to lead them into the next phase.
Highly rated Kjetil Knutsen is of interest to Celtic, while Craig Bellamy has also been mentioned as a possible option.
But there is one Frenchman working in the MLS in the United States who has emerged as the new frontrunner, with betting suspended by more than one bookmaker north of the border.
Who is Celtic candidate Wilfried Nancy?
Wilfried Nancy is a 48-year-old French coach, born in Le Havre.
He had a half-decent playing career, playing for Toulon and six other clubs, including Châtellerault and Orleans in the lower leagues of French football.
His coaching career was more productive than his own playing days as he started with Montreal Impact in Canada back in 2011 with their academy sides.
He would become their head coach, taking over from Thierry Henry in 2021 after the France and Arsenal icon left for personal reasons during the Covid pandemic. Nancy would win the club the Canadian Championship the same season.
The club qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League and would reach the quarter-finals before being eliminated.
The following year his side would set winning records and he would eventually be picked up by the Columbus Crew in the MLS, who paid a compensation package to bring him from Montreal.
During his time with the Crew, Nancy has won the MLS Cup and the Leagues Cup, while being named Coach of the Year in 2024.
Wilfried Nancy’s track record as a manager
Silverware aside, Nancy’s factual match report makes for interesting reading.
Celtic fans will certainly be intrigued to see exactly how well the coach has done with his clubs.
In total, he took charge of 79 games as head coach of CF Montreal, winning 38 of those games.
In terms of defeats, he suffered 25 there and played 16 games before leaving.
Of those 79 matches, he saw his team perform well and score 131 goals. They shipped 112 for a points per game ratio of 1.65.
They only managed to score in just 13 games out of 79, meaning they scored in 84 percent of their games.
Nancy has played more games with the Crew than in Canada. He has made 136 appearances for the club, winning 71 of them.
He has drawn 32 and lost 33 with 282 goals scored and 201 conceded, indicative of the kind of football fans can expect with an attacking emphasis and confidence that his side can outscore their opponents.
In terms of points per game for Columbus, Nancy sits at 1.80 with an overall winning percentage of 52.2 percent across all competitions.
Again, Crew played just 18 games without finding the net (several 0-0 draws) while Nancy’s 131 games found the net in 86.3 percent of matches.
What style of football does Wilfried Nancy play?
One agent source who spoke FootballBlog has had a number of players for Crew and CF Montreal over the years.
Our source describes the Frenchman’s style as: “Front foot, attacking football.”
They added: “He’s very good, Wilfried Nancy. I would have said he’s the best coach in MLS in recent seasons.”
“I haven’t heard specifically that he’s leaving (to Celtic), but Columbus is out of the play-offs now so he could go now and that would make sense.”
Other Celtic manager options
Celtic are arguably the biggest club in Scotland and so will have plenty of managers waiting in the wings to take the job if they can get it.
Ferencvaros’ Robbie Keane has been mentioned as a possible suitor for the Hoops given his link with the club, having played there for a season in 2010.
FootballBlog understands that former West Ham and West Brom boss Slaven Bilic wanted to tackle the role, while Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is still under consideration by the board.
Club Brugge coach Nicky Hayen is also being considered at Lennoxtown, with the Belgian giants drawing up contingency plans if he is persuaded to move to Scotland.
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