Sky Sports reported on Monday that Celtic are closing in on the appointment of Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy as their successor to Brendan Rodgers in the dugout at Parkhead.
The Hoops are poised to make the French tactician their new permanent manager, which will end Martin O’Neill’s time in interim charge after he takes the next two matches.
With the January transfer window on the horizon, it will not be long before the incoming head coach will have the chance to bring his own players in to bolster the squad.
Celtic set to make move for new centre-forward
According to The Scottish Sun, Nancy is set to make a move for Columbus Crew centre-forward Wessam Abou Ali as one of his first transfer targets in January to add to his options at the top end of the pitch.
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The report claims that the incoming Celtic manager views the Palestine international as a ‘perfect goalscoring machine’ and wants to reunite with him at Parkhead ahead of the second half of the 2025/26 campaign.
It adds, though, that Columbus Crew and Nancy only signed him in July from Egyptian giants Al Ahly for £5.7m, which means that the Hoops will have to pay a fee in excess of that as he has only been with the American side for a matter of months.
If the Scottish Premiership champions can seal a £6m+ deal for the MLS sensation in the January transfer window, it could end Johnny Kenny’s career at Parkhead.
How Abou Ali could end Kenny's Celtic career
Kenny has scored four goals in five matches under O’Neill, which is an impressive return, but he was subbed off at half-time in the 1-0 win over St Mirren in the Premiership last weekend.
The Ireland international has been playing as the main number nine due to an injury to first-choice number nine Kelechi Iheanacho, who is on his way back in the coming weeks.
This suggests that the arrival of a big-money centre-forward signing could put him third in the pecking order, behind Abou Ali and Iheanacho, when they are all fit and available, which may make him consider his short-term future in Glasgow.
Kenny has shown, with five goals this season, that he can be a capable goalscorer at this level. This means that he could find another club where he can play regularly and score goals consistently, if that does not continue at Parkhead.
Abou Ali has scored three goals in five matches for Nancy in the MLS for Columbus Crew since his move in the summer, after he scored three goals in three games at the Club World Cup.
2025/26
6 goals
5 goals
2024/25
15 goals
6 goals
2023/24
19 goals
13 goals
2022/23
10 goals
5 goals
As you can see in the table above, the Palestine international has outscored Kenny in each of the last four seasons in all competitions, which suggests that he would be a much better option for Nancy to call upon up front for Celtic.
Abou Ali was described as a “clinical” and “proven” goalscorer by Columbus Crew General Manager Issa Tall, and his statistics suggest that was an accurate description of his qualities.
The 26-year-old scored three goals from 0.75 xG in the MLS in the 2025 campaign and bagged three goals without missing a single ‘big chance’ at the Club World Cup, per Sofascore, which shows that he is a lethal finisher.
Therefore, the Columbus Crew centre-forward could be a fantastic signing who could lead the line impressively for the Hoops, whilst also potentially ending Kenny’s career at the club, as falling down the pecking order may force him to reconsider his future.
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1 ByDan Emery