A FORMER MLS footballer turned commentator has drawn stunning comparisons between Celtic managerial target Wilfried Nancy and Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique.
SunSport understands the Columbus Crew boss is frontrunner to replace Brendan Rodgers, who sensationally quit the Hoops last month.
Martin O’Neill has taken over during the interim period along with Shaun Maloney until the club can find a permanent replacement.
That work is ongoing with Celtic hierarchy reportedly holding talks with several candidates in London.
Nancy is well regarded by Paul Tisdale. Celtic’s head of operations worked with Nancy’s number two Kwame Ampadu at Exeter City.
But Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Bodo/Glimt’s Kjetil Knutsen are also being considered.
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And former US striker Herculez Gomez, who played for the likes of LA Galaxy and Santos Laguna during his career, has seen Nancy’s rise to prominence in America while working for ESPN.
He told BBC Sport Scotland: “He has an idea of how he wants to play, it’s very brave, it’s very nuanced.
“It’s very New Age, modern football, if you will, but in a crazy, mad scientist way.
“That’s who he’s been from day one, and it’s really gone well.
“I say meteoric rise because 2021 is when he got his first professional stint as a manager, and since then, he’s collected a few titles. Canadian Championship, MLS Leagues Cup, MLS Cup.”
After a relatively unremarkable playing career, Nancy moved into coaching at Montreal academy and spent 10 years working his way up before he became head coach when he replaced Thierry Henry in 2021.
He won the Canadian Championship in 2021 and set the club record for win and points totals in the following season.
That paved the way for a move to Columbus where he became MLS Cup Champion in 2023, and Leagues Cup Champion and MLS coach of the year in 2024.
Gomez added: “Everybody’s looking for the next big thing.
“If I could get somewhere close to his brand, it would be Luis Enrique‘s PSG.
“Enrique bases his philosophy off the interpretation of space, time and movement. There are no set positions.
“‘Relacionismo’, they say in Spanish.
“It’s how you relate to a certain sector on the field and how you can advance and really consume your opponent in numbers. That’s Wilfried Nancy.
“And there’s a reason he’s garnering attention. It’s because his brand is so pleasing to the eye. It’s catchy.
It can also be a Catch-22 every once in a while, because you’re playing on the edge. It’s a double-sided sword, but certainly he’s been on the better side of that sword.
“I see a lot of traits that could make him successful on a bigger stage, with more money, with more attention.
“He was MLS coach of the year last year but he didn’t need the title to be regarded as one of the best. He’s immensely respected.
“Certainly the philosophy of, ‘this is who we are, this is how we’re going to play, and we’re not straying from it’ is very much Luis Enrique.”
Gomez believes Celtic fans can look forward to an exciting and attractive style of play if he does end up landing the Hoops job.
He added: “Strap yourselves in. You’re going to get a coach who has an identity and a way of playing that fans relate to, that fans feel proud of.
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“You’re getting a coach who knows what he’s doing, you’re getting a coach who wants to express himself on the field and you’re getting a winner.
“That’s what Wilfried Nancy has been in his very short, meteoric rise. He’s a winner.”
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