Michael Gannon isn’t letting up on his favourite subject- Wilfried Nancy becoming the manager of Celtic.
On Friday the Daily Record reporter discovered the EXCLUSIVE news that talks between Celtic and Nancy had reached an advanced stage.
Strangely there has been no comment from Columbus Crew, barely a mention in the local Ohio media.
Crew fans are entitled to expect a comment, update or statement from their club if their contracted manager is in advance talks to move elsewhere.
Gannon has been relentless on the task. Over the weekend a variety of stories were published, all painting Nancy in a glowing light. From his style of football to backroom staff.
Transfer targets have also been covered, it seems that the best prospects in the MLS are on their way to Celtic as an added bonus on the deal.
NANCY SET-BACK?
Monday’s statement from Celtic threw a spanner in the works. Something didn’t add up or club communications are in a mess.
On October 27 Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney were announced as the interim management team. On November 17 Celtic announced that they were preparing for Saturday’s match at St Mirren.
An interim management team is in place until a permanent solution is found. Weekly or monthly updates aren’t required.
Instantly Celtic fans started to speculate. Was the Nancy deal not as advanced as Friday’s story in the Record claimed. Had Nancy taken fright at what he would be taking on. Were Celtic having second thoughts about the management recommendation from the former Exeter boss employed as Head of Football Operations.
On Tuesday the Record had some reassuring reports. Gannon is yer man.
At 12.55 he explained why Nancy wasn’t Ronny Deila.
At 20.40, half-time in the Scotland v Denmark match he produced another report on his favourite subject. It seems that since Friday Gannon has taken on the role of Wilfried Nancy correspondent for the Glasgow publisher.
The latest update claimed:
Celtic are continuing to make progress in the pursuit of Wilfried Nancy after kicking off compensation talks with Columbus Crew.
Record Sport revealed last week it would cost up to £2million to bag the Frenchman as boss and the discussions have been ramped up over the last few days.
Nancy held positive talks with Hoops chiefs over the weekend and the push is now on to tie up the deal ahead of the weekend.
Celts released a holding statement on Monday night telling fans interim boss Martin O’Neill and assistant Shaun Maloney would continue to take training ahead of Saturday’s clash with St Mirren while the manager process rumbled on.
But the move is progressing with the MLS outfit determined to land a decent fee for the 2024 coach of the year – and Nancy could even be in the stands for Saints if he’s not in the dugout in time.
Or he might not.
Nancy is also looking to bring some of his Columbus backroom staff, including right hand man Kwame Ampadu, coach Yoann Demet, plus first team analyst Max Chalier and fitness chief Jules Gueguen.
The 48-year-old is currently under contract for at least another 12 months but negotiations are well under way after Celts made their move in the wake of Crew’s MLS campaign coming to an end in the play-offs last weekend.
There appears to be plenty of holes in this story
IN THE KNOW
Gannon is clearly getting his information from a very senior and trusted source. Only a handful of people will know what is going on. It is quite possible that Sharon Brown and Brian Rose don’t have every detail.
During the summer Celtic’s negotiating ‘skills’ were badly exposed as the squad was severely weakened during the transfer window. Previous negotiations were hardly world class.
It seems that little progress has been made during the international break.
TIMETABLE
Rodgers resigned on October 27, within 20 minutes Dermot Desmond issued a scathing attack on the now former manager.
Celtic had O’Neill and Maloney in place the day that Rodgers resigned.
A hectic schedule of four matches ended on November 9 at home to Kilmarnock.
Today and tomorrow Celtic’s internationalists report back to Lennoxtown for training. The last 10 days was the perfect time to put together a new management team.
From Saturday at St Mirren, Celtic have 10 matches to play before the end of the year. The first match of 2026 is a Glasgow Derby.
At some stage soon Gannon’s confidence will be put to the test. If Nancy is the man Celtic want there is no logical reason for a delay in his appointment.
On Friday at the 2025 AGM Michael Nicholson can update shareholders on what he has been doing since October 27. If Nancy is appointed he can explain the reasoning for the decision and why the Frenchman wasn’t in place last week.
