The former Columbus Crew boss could look Stateside in the January window
Neil McGuinness reckons Celtic should be looking to raid the MLS market under Wilfried Nancy. The former Hoops star spotter is now technical director at Los Angeles FC after being Nancy’s recruitment chief at Columbus Crew.
And he reckons the new man in charge will be looking back across the pond at potential new recruits. McGuinness – who dug out Virgil van Dijk and several others during his time with Celts – said: “Absolutely. I strongly believe it’s a market Celtic should be looking at. You just have to see the success of Alistair Johnston at Celtic.
“But you look beyond that, there are more and more players who are going to Europe from the MLS and excelling. You look at Aidan Morris who went to Middlesbrough has done very well, Almiron when he went to Newcastle and was excellent.
“We had Cucho Hernandez at Columbus, who went to Real Betis and is producing the goods in La Liga. There are many, many more.
“The MLS is a very good standard and it’s improving every year. There are quality players coming through and they are playing alongside some really top stars. At LAFC we brought in Son Heung-min from Spurs and players can learn from these guys too.
“Regardless of the league players are in, if they are showing the attributes and mentality to play at a higher level, there is always opportunity to find them.
“Celtic have done well in exploring markets outside Europe, with the likes of the Japanese players making huge impressions. But America is definitely another environment they should be looking at.”
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