Wilfried Nancy appears to have been dealt a blow in his hopes of landing the Strasbourg job… by Kjetil Knutsen.
Both men were in the running for the Celtic job last December, and after Nancy won the race, a disastrous 33-day spell ensued.
The Frenchman is now actively targeting a move to Ligue 1, and has previously been linked with Lorient and Nice.
But Strasbourg – effectively a feeder club for Chelsea under the ownership of Blueco – are now “closer than ever” to landing the coup of the highly sought-after boss.
Sum up Wilfried Nancy’s 33 days at Celtic in one word…
Kjetil Knutsen in ‘advanced talks’ to land Strasbourg job
According to L’Equipe, Strasbourg are in advanced talks with Knutsen, who could finally be set to call time on his spell at Bodo/Glimt.
That’s after 376 games in the hotseat over eight successful years.
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Knutsen’s European achievements across the last six years at Bodo are quite something.
From obliterating Jose Mourinho’s Roma, knocking out Porto and Lazio on the way to a Europa League semi-final and thrashing Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic in 2022, they have established themselves as a force.
This season was their best yet. Defeating Atletico Madrid and Manchester City to qualify for the knockout rounds, they then eliminated last season’s finalists, Inter Milan.
It remains to be seen if Blueco will poach more staff from Bodo, given that Knutsen has been one part of a collaborative approach at the club.
He has worked closely in a well-oiled football structure alongside Club Manager Truls Bjerke, Director of Football Håvard Sakariassen and, perhaps most crucially, Chief Analyst Aasmund Bjørkan.
Bjørkan, whose son is Bodo and Norway’s left-back, has an extremely close relationship with Knutsen. He was previously the manager of the club with Knutsen as his assistant.
Knutsen took over when Bjørkan moved to the role of Sporting Director, before moving to the analyst role in 2023.
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Wilfried Nancy on his time at Celtic
Nancy recently said of Celtic on French radio show After Foot: “They contacted me for a very specific mandate, but sometimes, football is irrational. So it didn’t last long.
“The idea was to modernise the club and to bring something new. But then, they had a culture which is quite ingrained there.
“So that was an experience for me. I learned a lot about human beings and cultures. So there you have it, but it was a good experience for me.
“Now, the idea is to wait for the next project.”
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