Celtic have accelerated talks with French manager Wilfried Nancy over the weekend, with the Columbus Crew boss poised to replace Brendan Rodgers in Glasgow. According to sources, the Scottish giants have informed the Major League Soccer club on Friday that they are planning to make a move for Nancy, and the negotiations are expected to move forward swiftly.
The accelerated approach comes as Celtic hope to have Nancy in place by their next match against St Mirren next weekend, which would bring an end to Martin O'Neill's caretaker spell. O'Neill was set to meet with Celtic's main shareholder Dermot Desmond in London on Friday but the talks may now be irrelevant if Nancy is indeed appointed.
It's worth noting that Nancy was seen as a long shot for the job when first linked, but he ticks all the boxes for Celtic's preferred profile of an emerging coach who can progress within their system and accept transfer policies. His experience managing Montreal led to Columbus Crew finishing seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference this season before they bowed out of the playoffs.
Nancy is not the only name that has been mentioned as a potential candidate, however. Kieran McKenna was initially favored for the job but Celtic have so far failed to approach Ipswich about their manager, who has expressed little willingness to leave Portman Road due to his high compensation clause and expected wage. Robbie Keane and BodΓΈ/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen were also linked with the job before Paul Tisdale, Celtic's head of football operations, identified Nancy as his top choice.
The accelerated approach comes as Celtic hope to have Nancy in place by their next match against St Mirren next weekend, which would bring an end to Martin O'Neill's caretaker spell. O'Neill was set to meet with Celtic's main shareholder Dermot Desmond in London on Friday but the talks may now be irrelevant if Nancy is indeed appointed.
It's worth noting that Nancy was seen as a long shot for the job when first linked, but he ticks all the boxes for Celtic's preferred profile of an emerging coach who can progress within their system and accept transfer policies. His experience managing Montreal led to Columbus Crew finishing seventh in the MLS Eastern Conference this season before they bowed out of the playoffs.
Nancy is not the only name that has been mentioned as a potential candidate, however. Kieran McKenna was initially favored for the job but Celtic have so far failed to approach Ipswich about their manager, who has expressed little willingness to leave Portman Road due to his high compensation clause and expected wage. Robbie Keane and BodΓΈ/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen were also linked with the job before Paul Tisdale, Celtic's head of football operations, identified Nancy as his top choice.