Wilfried Nancy to Celtic: Fabrizio Romano delivers news fans have been waiting for

Robin Bairner

3 Dec 2025 13:30 GMT
4 min read

Wilfried Nancy will be Celtic’s next manager and Fabrizio Romano has now revealed when the Frenchman is set to take charge of the Bhoys.

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Nancy has long been established as the favourite to take over from interim manager Martin O’Neill at Parkhead.

O’Neill has done a solid job in filling the void that was left when Brendan Rodgers surprisingly quit the club following a Premiership loss to Hearts in October.

The Irishman will be in the dugout for one last time when the Hoops host Dundee at Parkhead on Wednesday, and Romano says that Nancy is now poised to take over.

“Wilfried Nancy has arrived in London now, authorised to travel by Columbus to become new Celtic head coach,” he wrote on X.

“Nancy will be in Glasgow on Thursday for his first training session at Celtic. Official announcement to follow.”

Baptism of fire for Nancy

Nancy’s first match in charge will, therefore, be a top-of-the-table clash against Hearts at Celtic Park on Sunday – a fixture that will be quickly followed by another home encounter against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday.

It promises to be a baptism of fire for the new manager, who has been favourably compared to Roberto De Zerbi in terms of his style by former Scotland international attacker Steven Naismith.

“I think from watching his team, the type of traits he has in his team is what a Roberto De Zerbi had at Brighton, where you are trying to bait the team out and be good enough to play through,” Naismith told The Warm-Up.

“How often do Celtic get pressed high? That will be slightly different. I think, the general size of the club, the whole winning thing. You’ve seen it at Rangers; Russell Martin comes in with a clear style.

“But if you’re not winning. You aren’t getting any time. It’s going to be high risk. It will be interesting to see how he plays it. Short-term. Long-term.

“Centre-backs are on the edge of the box, having shots. As much as there is a structure and a formation. The players are all over the place.”

Nancy arrives at Celtic with a pedigree of playing exciting, attacking football in MLS with Colombus, but this will be his first experience of a major European role.

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