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.
The outlet claims the French tactician could be in the dugout for the club’s Scottish Premiership clash against St Mirren on Saturday if a £2 million compensation deal can be put in place before the weekend.
Nancy will be looking to build on the success that Rodgers, as the graphic above shows, enjoyed with the Hoops during his second spell in charge of the Scottish giants, and Johny Kenny is a star he will surely look forward to working with.
How Johnny Kenny could fit into Wilfried Nancy’s system
According to Transfermarkt, the French boss usually plays with a 3-4-2-1 system, but has also used a 3-5-2, a 3-4-1-2 and a 4-4-2, meaning it is possible Kenny could be used as part of a front two.
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 faith in the youngster during his caretaker tenure.
Arguably Kenny’s best performances so far 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 position ahead of Nancy’s potential arrival, and he could play as part of a front two for Celtic if the manager opts for a two-striker formation.
The last Celtic 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 burst onto the scene for Celtic during the League Cup semi-final 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 injured his hamstring shortly after and is expected to remain on the bench.
Once back and available for selection, Nancy could unearth her own version of Kyogo and an improvement on Kenny by playing him at centre-forward, either alone or alongside the Irishman.
Journalist Mark Hendry described Osmand’s goal against Rangers as Kyogo-esque and said the striker was “so dangerous” for the Hoops in that semi-final clash.
The former Wales international’s career statistics compared to Kenny’s also suggest he is more likely to become a Kyogo-type goalscorer in the Premiership in the future.
|
Academy + first team |
Kenny |
Osmand |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
149 |
82 |
|
Goals |
47 |
49 |
|
Games by goal |
3.17 |
1.67 |
|
Aids |
11 |
13 |
|
Assist games |
1:55 p.m. |
6.31 |
|
Statistics via Transfermarkt |
||
As you can see in the table above, Osmand is scoring and creating goals at a higher rate than the Ireland international, with two more goals in 67 fewer appearances during his career at youth and first-team level.
The former Fulham youngster’s outstanding goal return in the stats above illustrates just how exciting he is as a centre-forward, which was evident in his recent appearances for the first team before his injury.
Osmand’s form at the top of the pitch for Fulham and Celtic suggests 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 is hoping that the 20-year-old talent will be back from his hamstring injury as soon as possible, so that he can start working with him as quickly as possible.
Not just Ralston: Nancy must abandon Celtic misfire that ‘destabilizes defenses’
Wilfried Nancy should immediately remove this Celtic striker from the starting lineup upon his arrival.
