Fabrizio Romano sends 10-word next Celtic manager update over 'talks ongoing' with number one contender
The in-the-know transfer guru has had his say on the front runner for the Celtic vacancy.
As the international break comes to a close, Celtic are yet to appoint a permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers.
Martin O’Neill has enjoyed a successful period during his interim spell, alongside former Hoops midfielder, Shaun Maloney. The 73-year old has won three out of three domestically in his second Celtic managerial stint, including a crucial win over Rangers in the League Cup semi-final.
With the final against St Mirren less than a month away, Columbus Crew boss, Wilfried Nancy is expected to be appointed to the Parkhead hot seat by then. However, whether he’ll be in the dugout for Celtic’s first post-international break fixture on Saturday against The Buddies, is another matter. As the Frenchman reaches the ‘advanced talks’ stage of proceedings for the Hoops top job, Fabrizio Romano has given GiveMeSport his verdict on who the new boss will be.
Celtic have ‘talks ongoing’ with Nancy - Romano
When asked if Nancy is the front runner for Brendan Rodgers’ replacement, the Italian journalist simply responded, “Yes he is now. There are talks ongoing with Celtic.” Other candidates for the permanent position have included Kieran McKenna, Kjetil Knutsen and O’Neill himself.
While some Celtic fans may be sceptical about the credentials of the new favourite due to his lack of European football experience, Nancy has enjoyed a successful career in the MLS. During his three year spell with ‘The Crew’, he already has an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup to his name, as well as individual accolades such as Coach of the Year for 2024.
Former Scotland International and MLS star, Steven Caldwell told the Daily Record: “he’s (Nancy) impressive. A good football guy. He’s a student of the game. He’s dead focused on tactics and patterns of play. He’s a sort of total-football kind of guy. He’s had great success in MLS. Winning the MLS Cup is huge. Basically, that’s winning the league. To do it with a team like Columbus, even though they had good players, was quite an achievement.”
O’Neill drops hint of Nancy timescale
While Nancy is set to be the new man, the MLS season doesn’t end until December 6th, so he would be without a break if he took the Celtic job now. With Celtic facing St Mirren this weekend, O’Neill hinted to TalkSport that he will still be in the dugout for the Paisley showdown.
Broadcaster Jim White said: “We mentioned Celtic a few moments ago, they seem to be moving closer to Wilfried Nancy. Mister Martin O’Neill – good friend of ours of course, quality guest on this show – has intimated to me that there is nothing immediate that would change his workload right now. His workload right now is being in interim charge of Celtic. That might change before the weekend.”
With ‘nothing immediate’ in the pipeline, O’Neill is suggesting that he will be in charge for the St Mirren fixture. Following that, the Hoops have a Europe League fixture away to Feyenoord on Thursday, before a trip to Easter Road the week after.