Celtic CEO promises to back Wilfried Nancy in January transfer window

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·6 December 2025

Celtic CEO promises to back Wilfried Nancy in January transfer window

In a rare as hen’s teeth interview with the comfort of the club’s media channels, Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson stated that – no laughing at the back – he intends to give Wilfried Nancy full backing in the January transfer window. The proof is in the pudding…

Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay. Dundee v Celtic. 19 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Nicholson, alongside Celtic’s Chief Financial Officer Chris McKay visited Lennoxtown on Thursday lunchtime to meet and greet the Frenchman and show him around the club’s training facilities for the first time. Nancy then led his first training session yesterday morning and will be thrown into action immediately, with Hearts arriving at Celtic Park on Sunday afternoon for a top of the table Scottish Premiership clash.

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The penny has dropped

Looking past the short-term challenges Nancy faces, lasting success depends on smart signings and effective work in the transfer market. The penny has dropped (McKay caught it before it hit the floor) as Nicholson appears to have recognised this, though his comments will face scepticism following a shambolic and much-criticised summer transfer window.

Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Speaking via Celtic TV, Celtic’s Silent Man said: “We want to develop the club and we want to perform. And in order to do that, we’re all going to get behind Wilfried from today, in the next coming days, the weeks and months, and in particular in the transfer windows ahead, both in January and into the summer. We’ll do everything we can to support Wilfried and his team and the players to deliver success for our supporters.”

“We’ve got a massive game ahead on Sunday, a massive week ahead”

“The club he [Nancy] was working with at the time were keen to keep a hold of Wilfried, so we were delighted to get through that process and bring him in. Once we’d achieved that, we wanted to get Wilfried started as quickly as possible.”

“We saw that this morning. He was straight into it. He wanted to get into the football because we know that we’ve got a massive game ahead on Sunday, a massive week ahead.”

Celtic Chief Executive Michael Nicholson sits in the directors box with Celtic s Chief Financial Officer Christopher McKay to his right. Celtic v Hibernian, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 27 September 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO Shutterstock

Nicholson added: “We know the expectation. We know what we want to deliver for our supporters, but we believe this was the right time to bring Wilfried in. We’ve been pushing very hard to get the process completed as quickly as we could. It took time.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

“We’ve been aware of Wilfried for a long time”

“I think when Brendan resigned, we always have to be aware of the market,” he continued. “We’ve been aware of Wilfried for a long time. He was our number one candidate going into the process. The more we looked into it, the more we saw that he aligned with what we need and what our vision for the club is.”

Brendan Rodgers talks to the media after the match. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“We want to develop the club. We want to develop players. And we want to succeed. So there’s a real performance element. And the more we looked at this, the more we felt that Wilfried was a perfect fit.”

“He’s humble. He has integrity. He’s got a real passion for the game

“He’s humble. He has integrity. He’s got a real passion for the game. You can sense his passion for Celtic, his excitement, his desire to get going. So that was really exciting to see. His style of football is the style of football that we want to see at Celtic. It’s aggressive. It’s attacking. And we’re delighted to have, and we’re looking forward to seeing how that translates onto the pitch.”

Celtic Unveil new manager Wilfried Nancy at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 05, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Wilfried Nancy can at least be 100% assured of the backing of the Celtic support when we arrives at Celtic Park tomorrow afternoon to take on Hearts. He also has this commitment from Michael Nicholson and if that is delivered that he should be in a very good place as Celtic manager.

Conor Spence

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