Celtic finally look set to land Wilfried Nancy.
Martin O’Neill confirmed that Dundee will be his last game in charge in his pre-match press conference, paving the way for Nancy to take charge of his first game against Hearts.
The Columbus Crew boss has been on the brink on the job for weeks, and must have been watching O’Neill’s run with jealousy.
Of course, he is an unknown quantity coming from MLS. But that doesn’t mean that fans aren’t doing their homework.
And Charlie Mulgrew has heard some interesting things from the conversations he’s been having about the incoming boss.
Charlie Mulgrew on incoming Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy
Nancy isn’t just being pursued for the silverware he has won in the US, but also the style in which he has won it.
He has established a reputation as one of the continent’s forward-thinking coaches, maximising his team’s potential with an innovative approach.
READ MORE: Martin O’Neill finally confirms his last Celtic game before Wilfried Nancy arrival
Speaking on the Breakdown, his new YouTube channel with Kevin Thomson, Mulgrew discussed the Frenchman and what he has heard about him.
He said: “I had wee look at him, right? So it started on TikTok, just flicking through… like when you’re abroad, ‘what’s good over here?’
“So, I had a wee look at him, and then I spoke to somebody I know who works over in America, I got a couple of the games sent and I had a wee look.
“Some of the stuff’s mental. As in, he’s got a structure, but there’s a lot of fluid movement within the structure.
“His teams in the MLS ran the most in the MLS. High-intensity running, distance covered was the most in the MLS.
“He plays three at the back, he plays a 3-4-3, similar to what [Xabi] Alonso did at Leverkusen, with the back three, the wingbacks, the two midfielders, the two 10s and a striker.
“But it’s quite slow build-up, like [Roberto] De Zerbi, and then they go quick. The game I watched, they were getting pressed very high.
“I’ve heard from a source that his man-management is top. I’ve heard he’s tactically very good.”
‘He also develops players, which is something that’s gone out the game.’
Celtic-bound Wilfried Nancy’s managerial career
Nancy moved to Canada over 20 years ago, and worked his way from youth football to the first-team coaching staff in MLS over the course of a decade.
After assisting countryman Thierry Henry, he took the job full-time in 2021, guiding Montreal to their highest-ever points total in his second year.
He moved to Columbus for the following season, and in his first year in Ohio, won the MLS Cup with an unfancied side.
He won the continental Leagues Cup the following year, winning MLS Coach of the Year. A year on, he now looks set for Celtic.
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