The Frenchman is the leading candidate despite the club confirming Martin O’Neill will remain in interim charge
Wilfried Nancy
Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy has already made his transfer philosophy clear to Celtic amid talks over becoming the next Parkhead boss.
The Scottish champions revealed that Martin O’Neill will continue to lead the team on an interim basis amid the manager search.
Nancy kicked off discussions with club chiefs on Friday night and the parties continued to iron out the details over the weekend.
The Scottish champions had been keen to get a deal done before Friday’s annual general meeting – but O’Neill will likely remain in charge when league action restarts against St Mirren alongside Shaun Maloney.
But the Frenchman has been made the no.1 target after an initial approach from Parkhead power broker Dermot Desmond following the departure of Brendan Rodgers – and it is understood he is already sold on the move.
Despite the waiting game with Celtic having to thrash out a compensation package with the MLS outfit, L’Equipe report that the 48-year-old’s stance on the job remains unchanged and he is “keen” on a switch to Glasgow’s east end.
With the January transfer window fast approaching, the Celtic Park decision-makers know his rules for key transfers.
He previously told the New Ground podcast: “The most important is to have clarity with our vision. And after that, it’s to get the right people to try to process this vision.
“And for me, there is profile. Without profile, this is impossible to achieve something.
“If you’re asking me to do content, I don’t have the capacity to do it. I have to learn from that.
“So what we do is, we have criteria within the profile of player that we want.
“First is effort. Without effort, you cannot do anything for me. I don’t want to waste time telling my players that they have to make an effort.
Wilfried Nancy of the Columbus Crew reacts
“No. Trust, if my player has really good quality, but he is not able to firstly have effort, we cannot work together.
“Second is audacity. Because the way we play, and what we do in life, what I’ve learned is that if you’re audacious, you maximise your chance to achieve something.
“And the third one is your brain. Smart, intelligence. Because my games and the style of play, the way I am as a person and the way I teach certain things, there is a lot of nuance.
“So everything took me time to define what type of profile.”
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