Erik Sviatchenko has urged Celtic to make more use of the MLS as a market to sign players.
When any Celtic fan hears those three letters, their thoughts inevitably move to the disastrous managerial experiment that was Wilfried Nancy earlier this season.
But in terms of transfers, it has recently brought Alistair Johnston to Glasgow, an undoubtedly successful signing.
Fellow contributing Celts Julian Araujo and Auston Trusty are also MLS experts. So does Sviatchenko (now at Houston Dynamo) have a point?
If not, who is?
Erik Sviatchenko points to ‘lower prices’ in MLS market for Celtic
Ex-Hoops defender Sviatchenko told the Daily Record: “The MLS is such a good market. The prices are sometimes a bit lower for some reason.
“It hasn’t been to the same level as all the other leagues around. In that aspect, I think you can find really, really good players here.
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“Definitely, there’s a market for Celtic.”
Asked about the ill-fated spell of Nancy, the Dane said: “I was actually excited [when he was appointed] . I played against Columbus. I watched them several times, and they played really good football.
“They were organised and it was a tough team to go up against. It was not a team you wanted to play against in the MLS. Rightfully, they got so much praise. They had a really clear structure.
“Can you go and implement that at Celtic within a couple of weeks? It showed that it was probably impossible.
“He had hoped maybe that it would be easier, but it didn’t work out. I don’t know if the right decision is to just call it a day and say it wasn’t a fit, or you stick with your plan and keep going until the summer and then take the hits you might get on the way.
“It never looks good when you have a manager that is let go or sacked after 30 days. It’s not good.”
In recent years, the MLS has made a conscious effort to change its reputation as a “retirement league”, instead importing young talent with the aim of making a profit.
Jhon Duran, Thiago Almada and Miguel Almiron are all examples of players sold at a profit by MLS clubs.
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Wilfried Nancy’s short Celtic spell
Nancy’s start to life at Celtic was daunting on paper – and in the end, the worst-case scenario was exactly what played out.
After Martin O’Neill’s run of wins in his interim spell, Nancy lost 2-1 to Hearts, 3-0 to Roma and 3-1 to St Mirren in his first week.
This was bruising enough, and after a 1-0 defeat to Dundee United, fans were already calling for him to be sacked.
Wins over Aberdeen and Livingston weathered the storm and showed better signs on the pitch – but in a crucial week of games against Motherwell and Rangers, two more defeats sealed Nancy’s fate.
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