da 888： L’Equipe reports that Celtic are in advanced talks with Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy to make him their long-term successor to Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead.
da winzada777： The outlet claims that the French tactician could be in the dugout for the club’s Scottish Premiership clash with St Mirren on Saturday if a £2m compensation agreement can be put in place before the weekend.
Nancy will be looking to build on the success that Rodgers, as shown in the graphic above, had with the Hoops during his second spell in charge of the Scottish giants, and Johny Kenny is one star who he will surely be looking forward to working with.
How Johnny Kenny could fit into Wilfried Nancy's system
Per Transfermarkt, the French boss typically plays with a 3-4-2-1 system but has also utilised a 3-5-2, 3-4-1-2, and a 4-4-2, which means that there is the potential for Kenny to be used as part of a front two.
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The Ireland international has scored four goals in his last four appearances for the Scottish giants since Kelechi Iheanacho suffered a hamstring injury, with Martin O’Neill placing his trust in the youngster during his spell in interim charge.
Kenny’s best performances so far, arguably, came in the 4-0 win over Falkirk at Parkhead in the Premiership, as the 22-year-old centre-forward scored half of his side’s goals.
His recent goalscoring exploits have put him in a good place ahead of Nancy’s potential arrival, and he could play as part of a front two for Celtic if the manager goes with a two-striker formation.
Celtic’s last striker to score 20 or more goals in a league season was Kyogo Furuhashi, who scored 27 goals in the 2022/23 campaign, but it is not Kenny who could be Nancy’s own version of the Japan international.
The young star who could be Celtic's next Kyogo Furuhashi
Callum Osmand broke onto the scene for Celtic in the League Cup semi-final clash with Rangers earlier this month, as he came off the bench to score his first senior goal.
The Jersey-born star then came off the bench to win a penalty against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League, but went down with a hamstring injury shortly after and is set for a spell on the sidelines.
Once he is back and available for selection, though, Nancy could unearth his own version of Kyogo and an upgrade on Kenny by playing him in the centre-forward position, either on his own or alongside the Irishman.
Reporter Mark Hendry described Osmand’s goal against Rangers as Kyogo-esque and said that the forward was “so dangerous” for the Hoops in that semi-final clash.
The former Wales international’s career statistics in comparison to Kenny’s also suggest that he is more likely to develop into a Kyogo-type goalscorer in the Premiership moving forward.
Appearances
149
82
Goals
47
49
Games per goal
3.17
1.67
Assists
11
13
Games per assist
13.55
6.31
As you can see in the table above, Osmand scores and creates goals at a greater rate than the Ireland international, with two more goals in 67 fewer matches in his career at youth and first-team level.
The former Fulham youngster’s exceptional goal return in the statistics above illustrates how exciting he is as a centre-forward prospect, which was evident in his recent cameos for the first-team before his injury.
Osmand’s form at the top end of the pitch for Fulham and Celtic suggests that he has the potential to be an even better number nine option than Kenny, as well as being Nancy’s own version of Kyogo.
Therefore, the potential Celtic manager will be hoping that the 20-year-old talent is back from his hamstring injury sooner rather than later, so he can get to working with him as quickly as possible.
Not just Ralston: Nancy must ditch Celtic dud who "unsettles defences"
Wilfried Nancy should immediately drop this Celtic forward from the starting line-up once he arrives.
ByDan Emery