Major League Soccer club the Columbus Crew is working to finalize a deal that would see their head coach Wilfried Nancy take up the vacant position at Scottish club Celtic.
The Scottish Premiership champions have been without a permanent head coach since Brendan Rodgers resigned on October 27, with Martin O’Neill taking interim charge of the side. O’Neill oversaw a record of four wins and one defeat in his five matches, having returned to the club after coaching them from 2000 to 2005.
Nancy has enjoyed a successful tenure with the Crew, winning the 2023 MLS Cup and 2024 Leagues Cup and leading the team to the final of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Columbus is in discussions with Celtic and Nancy about finalizing an agreement that would allow Nancy to leave the club early, a source briefed on the discussions said. His contract expires at the end of 2026.
In the 2025 season Columbus finished as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference standings and took on rival FC Cincinnati in round one of the MLS Cup play-offs but was beaten 2-1 in the Game 3 decider.
Nancy had previously refused to comment on any links to Celtic.
“I’m not here to talk about myself,” he said at an end-of-season press conference on October 13. “I have nothing to say about any kind of reports.”
The 48-year-old began his coaching career in amateur soccer in Canada in 2006. He secured an academy role at CF Montréal and eventually served as an assistant coach at the club under Thierry Henry.
After Henry resigned, Nancy was promoted to head coach in March 2021 and went on to the lead Montreal to its best season in club history the following year, setting team records of 20 wins and 65 regular season points. He took the side to the MLS Cup semi-finals, where it was defeated by New York City FC.
Nancy was hired by Columbus in December 2022 and won the MLS Cup in his debut season with the team. In the 2023 season, he was named MLS coach of the year after the Leagues Cup success. He has a record of 71 wins, 32 ties and 33 losses with the Crew. Nancy has had interest from overseas clubs over the past few years after his success in MLS.
Columbus last year engaged Nancy in contract negotiations to extend his contract, the source said, with an eye to make him the highest-paid coach in the league. Nancy, though, declined to extend his deal with an eye on making a move overseas, the source said. Columbus will have a full coaching search, as required under MLS rules, as they look to replace Nancy, who many considered to be the best coach in the league.
Celtic are second in the Scottish Premiership, four points behind leaders Hearts with a game in hand.
