As the international break draws to a close, Celtic have reportedly confirmed when Wilfried Nancy will take over as manager for the first time after making a £2m fee offer to Columbus Crew.
The Bhoys have been without a manager since the departure of Brendan Rodgers, but have seen Martin O’Neill roll back a few years in the interim. The 73-year-old led his former club to the Scottish League Cup final. The final will be played with or without him against St Mirren on December 14th.
As it stands, O’Neill will be in charge of Celtic’s return to action this weekend in the Scottish Premiership against St Mirren, providing a preview of the aforementioned final. The veteran manager recently admitted to fans that it had been a “bit of a fortnight” before the international break.
“First of all, it was a bit of a hectic two weeks ago so we have really enjoyed a few days off but unless there is an announcement in the next few days we are happy to still be here for the game against St Mirren at the weekend.
“First of all, we want our players to come back unscathed from international matches. That’s the most important thing for us right now, now we have to deal with a few injuries.
“So I don’t mind whatever team we field against Kilmarnock and it could be pretty much the same squad, but we can only deal with what we have and what we want to do and we just want to play as strong as we can. But let’s see what happens over the next few days.”
But after this weekend’s game, the Hoops could be closer to being named manager. It looks like Nancy could arrive, having been linked with the likes of Kieran McKenna and Ange Postecoglou throughout the process.
Celtic learn Nancy’s timeline as deal closes
As reported by TeamTalk, Celtic have submitted a £2m compensation package to sign Nancy and several members of the backroom team from Columbus Cue. The board hopes to have a new manager in the dugout by November 30th, when they play against Hibernian.
Boyes is also reportedly close to agreeing personal terms with the MSL manager, with comparisons to Postecoglou quickly making him a top target around Celtic Park.
Nancy can forget Maeda by making £325,000-a-week star player his first Celtic contract
Celtic’s potential new manager could forget about Daenen Maeda by signing this reported transfer target.
It will certainly be interesting to see if Nancy, who often operates in a 3-4-2-1 system, adapts his ways quickly in Scotland. It is unusual to see Celtic in such a formation, but it is one that has brought the potential new manager much success in America.
Nancy, who received much praise during his time in MLS, now appears destined to become Celtic’s next manager.
