The 48-year-old has been the frontrunner for the vacant managerial role for almost two weeks, following Brendan Rodgers‘ shock resignation a month ago. In that time, Martin O’Neill has been in charge of the club on an interim basis, while the club has looked for Rodgers’ permanent replacement.
Now, it appears likely that Frenchman Nancy will be that man. Sky Sports has reported that the Scottish champions are ‘close’ in their pursuit of the Columbus Crew head coach, though a compensation package has yet to be agreed between the two clubs.
Despite this, Celtic hope to have their new manager in place for next week, with the club also in discussions with Nancy’s potential backroom team, which will include a coach ‘familiar’ with Celtic and Scottish football, according to the source.
Because of these ongoing discussions, it is increasingly likely that O’Neill and his assistant, Shaun Maloney, will be in charge of Celtic’s upcoming matches against Feyenoord and Hibernian in the Europa League and Scottish Premiership, respectively.
During their five-game stint in charge of first-team matters, O’Neill and his backroom staff have steered Celtic to on-field stability, winning four out of five games in all competitions, including three successive Premiership wins.
Despite losing to Midtjylland in the Europa League, O’Neill defeated Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden, with Celtic set to face St Mirren in the final next month.
Last time out, the club defeated their upcoming League Cup opponents 1-0, thanks to a late goal from captain Callum McGregor.