'mad Scientist' & 'next Luis Enrique' - Who Is Celtic-linked Wilfried Nancy?

As speculation mounts astir Celtic's adjacent imperishable manager, 1 sanction featuring prominently is Wilfried Nancy of Columbus Crew.

So, really did nan comparatively young, comparatively unheralded Frenchman travel to specified prominence successful nan speech astir who will yet switch Brendan Rodgers?

BBC Scotland has been taking a look, pinch nan thief of nan erstwhile United States striker Herculez Gomez, who has followed Nancy's emergence for broadcaster ESPN successful their sum of Major League Soccer.

One of nan first things to impressment onlookers, isolated from Nancy's style of football, is nan velocity of his emergence to prominence.

The 48-year-old landed his first managerial occupation successful 2021, taking complete from his friend and erstwhile leader Thierry Henry astatine CF Montreal. Not bad for a man who, conscionable a fewer short years earlier, was coaching under-14 girls.

It appears Nancy is nary alien to a steep learning curve, arsenic Gomez explains. "He has an thought of really he wants to play, it's very brave, it's very nuanced," said nan American.

"It's very New Age, modern football, if you will, but successful a crazy, huffy intelligence way. That's who he's been from time one, and it's really gone well. I opportunity meteoric emergence because 2021 is erstwhile he sewage his first master stint arsenic a manager, and since then, he's collected a fewer titles. Canadian Championship, MLS Leagues Cup, MLS Cup."

Born successful Le Havre successful 1977 to a begetter from Guadeloupe and a mother from West Africa, Nancy is already thing of a trailblazer.

"He was nan first achromatic caput coach successful nan history of Major League Soccer to triumph a title," Gomez explained.

"They'd ne'er had a achromatic coach assistance nan MLS Cup, and he did it pinch a definite type of brand, and I conjecture nan champion measurement to picture him is he's brave successful his football.

"Speak to his players and they'll opportunity nan consequence is secondary. Secondary because he wants to instrumentality nan marque first, and nan remainder follows."

Three things will person attracted Celtic's interest. Nancy is simply a proven winner, his teams play fast, attacking shot and he already has a loose relationship to nan nine since his adjunct astatine Columbus Crew, Kwame Ampadu, worked pinch nan Parkhead club's head of shot operations, Paul Tisdale, astatine Exeter City.

Nancy could besides beryllium disposable consecutive away, arsenic nan Crew's play is complete and Gomez isn't successful nan slightest spot amazed to spot him linked to a large European club.

"He's had a fewer suitors chasing him complete nan years, successful nan English crippled pyramid and successful France," he said. "Celtic is simply a monolithic club, a monolithic brand. Nowhere that he's been, Montreal aliases Columbus, has he had nan wallet that he would person astatine Celtic.

"So, to prime and take nan elements you want whitethorn beryllium beneficial to him, whitethorn suit his brand, but it's a civilization shock. It's decidedly a daze nan measurement he wants to play.

"The first clip I saw his team, I was a spot amused. The goalkeeper has to play precocious disconnected his line, beryllium bully pinch his feet. The centre-backs person to beryllium very bully pinch nan ball, often find themselves successful precocious positions.

The wing-backs are very overmuch for illustration we saw successful nan Xabi Alonso Leverkusen years, wherever they're going to beryllium premier attackers, and possibly extremity scorers and facilitators.

"There's a batch of creativity, free flow. I'm not amazed that a squad for illustration Celtic is looking astatine him. If it's not Celtic, it'll beryllium different team, that's for sure."

After dropping successful nan sanction of Real Madrid leader Alonso, whose superb Bayer Leverkusen broadside became nan first broadside to triumph nan Bundesliga undefeated, Gomez isn't acrophobic to comparison Nancy to different awesome of nan existent European coaching fraternity, Champions League-winning Paris St-Germain caput coach Luis Enrique.

"Everybody's looking for nan adjacent large thing," he explained.

"If I could get location adjacent to his brand, it would beryllium Luis Enrique's PSG. Enrique bases his accuracy disconnected nan mentation of space, clip and movement. There are nary group positions.

"'Relacionismo', they opportunity successful Spanish. It's really you subordinate to a definite assemblage connected nan section and really you tin beforehand and really devour your force successful numbers. That's Wilfred Nancy.

"And there's a logic he's garnering attention. It's because his marque is truthful pleasing to nan eye. It's catchy. It tin besides beryllium a Catch-22 each erstwhile successful a while, because you're playing connected nan edge. It's a double-sided sword, but surely he's been connected nan amended broadside of that sword.

"I spot a batch of traits that could make him successful connected a bigger stage, pinch much money, pinch much attention, He was MLS coach of nan twelvemonth past twelvemonth but he didn't request nan title to beryllium regarded arsenic 1 of nan best. He's immensely respected.

"Certainly nan accuracy of, 'this is who we are, this is really we're going to play, and we're not straying from it' is very overmuch Luis Enrique."

One point that could beryllium euphony to nan ears of nan Celtic committee and supporters is that Nancy, successful Gomez's opinion, is comfortable pinch expectations of speedy success. In different words, Nancy doesn't bent astir erstwhile it comes to civilization change.

"He makes things activity comparatively fast," Gomez said. "That's worthy noting. Oftentimes, it takes coaches immoderate clip to instrumentality an identity, a style.

"He's deed nan crushed moving successful 2 different places, whether it's Montreal, a squad of little resources, aliases Columbus Crew, a squad that has been known to fto spell of nan purse strings each erstwhile successful a while and bring successful immoderate bully talent.

"He's done good successful different settings, truthful it's worthy noting that erstwhile you get Wilfried Nancy, you get personification who's utilized to making things hap reasonably quickly."

If Nancy does get nan gig successful Glasgow, Gomez has a elemental connection for nan Celtic diaspora: "Strap yourselves in."

"You're going to get a coach who has an personality and a measurement of playing that fans subordinate to, that fans consciousness proud of," he added.

"You're getting a coach who knows what he's doing, you're getting a coach who wants to definitive himself connected nan section and you're getting a winner.

"That's what Wilfried Nancy has been successful his very short, meteoric rise. He's a winner."