It’s an excellent time to be an Arsenal fan at the moment.

Mikel Arteta’s side are four for four in the Champions League, through to the next round in the League Cup and top of the Premier League.

However, the North Londoners still have their problems, such as the growing number of injuries.

Moreover, Arteta now has to make do without summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, although the good news is that he has a solution in Arsenal’s best finisher since Robin van Persie.

Arsenal's solutions to Gyokeres' injruy

With Kai Havertz still out and Gabriel Jesus only just returning to first-team training, Arteta can get a little creative with his Gyokeres replacement.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

One option could be moving Leandro Trossard into the middle, as, unlike last season, he seems to be getting back to his dangerous best.

In fact, the Belgian international has already amassed an impressive tally of three goals and four assists for the side in 13 appearances.

Moreover, while the 30-year-old is primarily a winger, he’s no stranger to playing up top, having done so 49 times across his career.

However, should the manager wish to keep Trossard on the right, he could go with an even bolder choice: starting Ethan Nwaneri up top.

After all, only last season he told the press that the youngster “can play as a right winger and there is another position I think he can develop into – No9.”

Moreover, with an impressive tally of nine goals and two assists in just 1378 minutes last season, the teenager clearly has an eye for goal that’s hard to teach.

However, while Trossard and Nwaneri would probably do a fine job leading the line for a game, there is another player Arteta will almost certainly turn to, a player who could be looked at as Arsenal’s best finisher since Van Persie.

Arsenal's best finisher

While he does have a few options at his disposal, it seems almost certain that Arteta will opt to play Mikel Merino up top against Sunderland.

After all, over the last year or so, the Spaniard has put forward a very good case for him being the club’s best finisher since Van Persie.

Now, that is not to say that he’s been the best centre-forward since the Dutchman, as he hasn’t and wouldn’t even claim to be one.

However, his quality of finishing is superb, and his utterly outrageous catalogue of goals proves as much.

For example, in his very first game as the side’s striker, against Leicester City last season, he scored an excellent header and another one-touch finish into the bottom corner.

Then, at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League, he once again scored a sensational one-touch goal, but this time from the edge of the penalty area.

In fact, when looking back on the goals he has scored for the club, it becomes apparent that he’s at his very best when he has less time to think and has to finish with a single touch.

Fortunately for him and the rest of the team, he is something of a “magnet in the box,” per Arsenal writer Adam Keys, and so he often has just one opportunity to bury a chance.

Ultimately, it might sound hyperbolic, and Arteta won’t want him playing up top for much longer, but it’s hard to deny that Merino currently looks like Arsenal’s best finisher since Van Persie.

Arsenal have their next Xhaka who's one of the best in "world football"

The international gem could end up being an even better version of Xhaka for Arsenal and Arteta.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 7, 2025

In the now-historic free agent negotiations with 26-year-old slugger Juan Soto, the New York Yankees went nearly everywhere the Mets did, even blowing past the previous contract record of $700 million, set by Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way star Shohei Ohtani, in the club's final bid for the four-time All-Star.

But the Yankees' reluctance to budge on one small detail, which the Mets acquiesced to, may have made a difference in Soto agreeing to change boroughs for the record, $765 million deal.

The Mets offered Soto and his family a suite at Citi Field while the Yankees "wouldn't budge" on the suite, according to Jon Heyman of the . New York, which had given suites to five-time World Series champion Derek Jeter and two-time American League MVP Aaron Judge on the condition that they pay for them, didn't feel right giving Soto the suite for nothing, instead offering him one at Yankee Stadium at a discount.

Heyman also reported that an incident with an overzealous Yankees security guard seemed to irk Soto earlier in the year, though the club apologized to him and he "forgave them." But with the offer of the suite at no cost and the knowledge of where the Yankees may have briefly overstepped their boundaries, the Mets seemingly appealed to Soto's family, as much as they did to the generational slugger.

In addition to the suite, the Mets' offer included a $75 million signing bonus, compared to the Yankees' $60 million, a fifth-year opt-out, which if voided by the club would escalate Soto's average annual value from $51 million to $55 million over the last 10 years of the deal, a no-trade clause and no deferrals (The Yankees' offer also included no deferrals).

Money talks, and it's clear that these perks certainly sweetened the pot for Soto. But most of all, it seems that Cohen, the richest owner in baseball hell-bent on winning, and Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, sold Soto on the club's vision for the future, which may have spoken louder than any of the riches the superstar player was offered.

Leeds United are eyeing up one manager who has wins over Oliver Glasner, Thomas Tuchel and Ange Postecoglou to replace Daniel Farke.

Farke under pressure at Leeds after Nottingham Forest defeat

The Whites and Farke headed into the international break following two Premier League losses on the road to Brighton and Nottingham Forest.

Conceding three goals at the AMEX and the City Ground, Leeds now find themselves just one point clear of safety and have an extremely tough run of fixtures when club football returns.

Leeds’ upcoming fixtures

Date

Aston Villa (h)

November 23rd

Manchester City (a)

November 29th

Chelsea (h)

December 3rd

Liverpool (h)

December 6th

Brentford (a)

December 14th

Crystal Palace (h)

December 21st

Sunderland (a)

December 28th

There has been plenty of speculation on Farke’s future following the defeats in recent week, but journalist Graeme Bailey insisted the 49ers Enterprises intend to give him until January to turn things around.

Bailey said: “Pressure is mounting on Daniel Farke – but he knew this was coming and the club did too. This is going to be a long season. Everyone was aware. They didn’t spend the tens of millions that Sunderland did.

“They know Farke can only do so much with the squad at his disposal. But the quality of performance and how they compete is going to be vital in the coming weeks.”

There have been a number of managers mooted with an Elland Road move to replace Farke, should the 49ers make a change, including Liam Rosenior of Strasbourg and Valencia’s Carlos Corberan, a former assistant to Marcelo Bielsa.

Leeds eyeing up move for Marco Rose

Now, according to Football Insider, former RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig manager Marco Rose is firmly on Leeds’ radar.

The outlet then relayed comments from former scout Mick Brown, who said it would be a “gamble” to appoint someone like Rose.

“I have no doubt Marco Rose is on Leeds’ radar. Their links with Red Bull make that a possibility for Leeds, so it’s certainly an option they might look to explore if they do decide to make a change.

“But personally I would be surprised if he was the person they chose to help them. If they decide to sack Farke, it will be because they’re at risk of getting relegated, so I don’t think taking a gamble on a manager like Rose would be right for them.

“He doesn’t know the Premier League, and it might be a cliche, but that’s what Leeds will be looking for. There was talk about Farke during the summer and whether he could go, because they wanted somebody with experience of being successful in the Premier League.

“So if they decide to sack him now, I expect that’s what they’re going to look at.”

The 49-year-old, who plays a 4-4-2 system, is currently out of work after leaving Leipzig back in March.

Rose does have wins over the likes of Glasner, Tuchel and Postecoglou on his CV and revealed what style of play he likes his sides to have.

Could that be at Leeds?

He's got a "bit of Bielsa": Leeds could sack Farke for "mental" 4-3-3 coach

Tottenham Hotspur are in the market for quality attacking reinforcements come January and have now been told how much it will take to land a winger who is thriving in one of Europe’s top-five leagues.

Thomas Frank has had mixed luck with signings since walking through the door in N17, and many would argue that Spurs’ capture of Mohammed Kudus has been their best bit of business so far.

On the flip side, Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani may take a little longer to fully settle at the club after some mixed performances, which is part and parcel of football at the end of the day, and the latter’s been very stop-start due to multiple injury problems.

As January approaches, signings will be necessary for Tottenham to kick on under Frank’s stewardship, and he already appears to have identified some exciting names to help their push for a strong Premier League finish.

Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo is a high-profile Spurs target and may be on his way to N17 amid the Lilywhites’ wish to recruit a new winger as a top priority, rather than a fixed number nine.

Looking towards in-form Premier League stars may be their preference. Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye is another name wanted by Tottenham, and they have made an approach for the Senegal international, even if he could cost close to £70 million.

Truthfully, Spurs have the financial muscle to acquire top talent, but half the battle may be convincing players that their project has more to offer in the long term than rival clubs.

Competition for new additions in mid-season is usually fierce, though Tottenham have been told in no uncertain circumstances how much it may cost to bring one of their known targets to North London if they decide to press ahead with a move.

Tottenham told how much it will cost to land Takefusa Kubo

According to Pete O’Rourke on Football Insider’s Inside Track, Tottenham target Takefusa Kubo has a £52 million release clause inserted in his Real Sociedad contract, and any bid submitted matching that figure would be enough to enter direct negotiations with the player.

He explained: “He’s been continually linked with the move to the Premier League with Tottenham, Liverpool over the years, Aston Villa as well. Top young player who’s done really well for Real Sociedad. So, it’s no surprise that the top European clubs are looking at the Japanese international as well.

Takefusa Kobe at Real Sociedad – is he worth £52 million?

Appearances

147

Goals

24

Assists

18

“He has got a release clause in his contract, so it would be straightforward if Tottenham wanted to go and sign him in January. £52million, it’s not a cheap deal by any stretch of the imagination. So, that will come into consideration if Tottenham are to firm up their interest in Kubo as well.”

Lauded by Zinedine Zidane for his “very interesting” tendencies as a player, Kubo has emerged as a target amid concerns over whether Everton would be willing to let go of Ndiaye, though it remains to be seen whether Spurs can land either of their targets.

MI Cape Town

Retained: Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch
Wild Card: Kagiso Rabada
Pre-signing: Nicholas PooranAt the auction: Rassie van der Dussen (R5.2 million), Reeza Hendricks (R500,000), Dwaine Pretorius (R650,000), Tristan Luus (R650,000), Jason Smith (R500,000), Tom Moores (R200,000), Dane Piedt (R200,000), Tian van Vuuren (R1 million), Dan Lategan (R400,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (R500,000), Karim Janat (R1 million), Jacques Snyman (R200,000)Related

• Keshav Maharaj to lead Pretoria Capitals at SA20

• Brevis, Markram earn record sums at SA20 2025-26 auction

• Cape Town to host SA20 final

• Capitals name Ganguly head coach, Pollock assistant coach

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Retained: Tristan Stubbs
Wild Card: Marco Jansen
Pre-signing: Jonny Bairstow, AM Ghazanfar, Adam MilneAt the auction: Quinton de Kock (R2.4 million), Matthew Breetzke (R6.1 million), Anrich Nortje (R5 million), Senuran Muthusamy (R1.5 million), Patrick Kruger (R450,000), Lutho Sipamla (R600,000), Mitchell van Buuren (R200,000), Jordan Hermann (R1.5 million), Beyers Swanepoel (R200,000), James Coles (R1 million), Chris Wood (R500,000), Lewis Gregory (R1 million), CJ King (R200,000), JP King (R200,000)

Joburg Super Kings

Retained: Faf du Plessis
Wild Card: Donovan Ferreira
Pre-signing: James Vince, Akeal Hosein, Richard GleesonAt the auction: Wiaan Mulder (R9 million), Nandre Burger (R6.3 million), Prenalen Subrayen (R1 million), Dian Forrester (R200,000), Steve Stolk (R200,000), Janco Smit (R200,000), Neil Timmers (R200,000), Shubham Ranjane (R200,000), Brandon King (R200,000), Rilee Rossouw (R500,000), Rivaldo Moonsamy (R400,000), Imran Tahir (R600,000), Reece Topley (R600,000)

Pretoria Capitals

Wild Card: Andre Russell
Pre-signing: Will Jacks, Sherfane RutherfordAt the auction: Keshav Maharaj (R1.7 million), Lungi Ngidi (R2.3 million), Dewald Brevis (R16.5 million), Lizaad Williams (R2.4 million), Craig Overton (R1 million), Saqib Mahmood (R1.5 million), Codi Yusuf (R225,000), Connor Esterhuizen (R3.2 million), Bryce Parsons (R1.9 million), Gideon Peters (R400,000), Junaid Dawood (R200,000), Will Smeed (R200,000), Meeka-eel Prince (R200,000), Bayanda Majola (R200,000), Wihan Lubbe (R200,000), Sibonelo Makhanya (R200,000)

Paarl Royals

Retained: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin
Wild Card: Rubin Hermann
Pre-signing: Sikandar Raza, Mujeeb Ur RahmanAt the auction: Ottneil Baartman (R5.1 million), Gudakesh Motie (R375,000), Delano Potgieter (R2.6 million), Kyle Verreynne (R2.3 million), Keagan Lion-Cachet (R950,000), Asa Tribe (R200,000), Hardus Viljoen (R200,000), Jacon Johannes Basson (R200,000), Dan Lawrence (R500,000), Eshan Malinga (R1 million), Nqobani Mokoena (R200,000), Vishen Halambage (R200,000), Nqaba Peter (R500,000)

Durban’s Super Giants

Retained Noor Ahmad
Wild Card Heinrich Klaasen
Pre-signing Sunil Narine, Jos ButtlerAt the auction: Kwena Maphaka (R2.3 million), Aiden Markram (R14 million), Devon Conway (R325,000), Gerald Coetzee (R7.4 million), David Bedingham (R325,000), Marques Ackermann (R200,000), Eathan Bosch (R1.75 million), Andile Simelane (R200,000), Tony de Zorzi (R200,000), Dayyaan Galiem (R200,00), Taijul Islam (R500,000), Evan Jones (R200,000), Gysbert Wege (R200,000), David Wiese (R1.3 million), Daryn Dupavillon (R200,000)

Unsold players

Jordan Cox, Mustafizur Rahman, Tom Abell, Kusal Perera, Andile Phehlukwayo, Leus du Plooy, George Garton, Jayden Seales, Junior Dala, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Simon Harmer, Kyle Simmonds, Waqar Salamkheil, Brandon McMullen, Keacy Carty, Temba Bavuma, Tawanda Muyeye, Keith Dudgeon, Okhule Cele, Matthew Boast, Migael Pretorius, Nqobani Mokoena, James Anderson, Sonny Baker, Daniel Smith, Andries Gous, Grant Roelofson, Jewel Andrew, Schalk Engelbrecht, Thomas Kaber, Nathan Sowter, Caleb Saleka, Moeen Ali, Jordan Clark, Jason Roy, Jordan Thompson, Jacques Snyman, Beuran Hendricks, Ruan Haasbroek, Wayne Parnell, James Robb-Quinlan, Aphiwe Mnyandi, Jorich van Schalkwyk, George van Heerden, Jon-Jon Smuts, Nangialai Kharoti, Jean du Plessis, Duane Jansen, Binura Fernando.

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has been forced to deal with a plethora of injuries since taking over from Ange Postecoglou, with the club’s bad luck in that regard continuing into this season.

Ex-chairman Daniel Levy got so frustrated with Spurs’ key player absences in 24/25 that he overhauled their medical department for the second year running last summer. Key sports science chiefs Adam Brett and Nick Davies were both shown the door before the start of this season, with Nick Stubbings following Frank from Brentford to join as medical lead.

The Lilywhites were minus Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Guglielmo Vicario for large portions of last campaign, alongside many other key men, which undoubtedly played a role in Spurs’ finishing a lowly 17th in the Premier League table.

This season, they haven’t fared much better.

Soon after Frank was appointed to succeed Postecoglou, Spurs lost playmaker James Maddison to an ACL injury which will keep him out for most of 2025/2026, with the England international on an extensive list of absentees.

Dejan Kulusevski

Knee

22/11/2025

James Maddison

ACL

01/06/2026

Radu Dragusin

Knee

22/11/2025

Ben Davies

Thigh

23/11/2025

Kota Takai

Ankle/Foot

23/11/2025

Yves Bissouma

Ankle/Foot

23/11/2025

Lucas Bergvall

Concussion

23/11/2025

Dominic Solanke

Ankle

23/11/2025

Archie Gray

Calf/Shin/Heel

23/11/2025

via Premier Injuries

The likes of Romero, Wilson Odobert, Randal Kolo Muani and Destiny Udogie were also sidelined for periods recently until making their respective comebacks, so Frank will be desperate for this torrid luck to cease as he attempts to guide Tottenham to major silverware and a top four finish.

Luckily for Spurs, electrifying winger and star summer signing Mohammed Kudus is likely to return against Man United this weekend after the Ghanaian confirmed his knock is getting better.

Tottenham hit by injury blow as "promising" youngster Elijah Upson withdraws from England duty

Speaking to Tottenham News, pundit and academy expert John Wenham, who oversees the Lilywhites Rose account on X, says that Tottenham’s injury woes even stretch down to youth level.

Young defender Elijah Upson, who captains Spurs’ Under-18s, was forced to withdraw from the England Under-17s World Cup squad after suffering his own injury, which comes as a crying shame considering the club could have had five youth players representing them for the Three Lions.

The 17-year-old was recently handed a call-up to Tottenham’s Under-21 squad as well, playing the full 90 minutes and shutting out West Brom in a 1-0 win just over a month ago.

The injury comes as more of a blow to Upson’s personal development, with the versatile centre-back/right-back looking to make Johan Lange – who now oversees the academy as one of his many co-director responsibilities – stand up and take notice.

Ben Duckett set for final outing of busy summer before being rested for T20Is

Matt Roller06-Sep-2025Ben Duckett has been backed to end his international season in style in Southampton on Sunday, keeping his place for the third ODI against South Africa despite England’s decision to rest him for next week’s T20Is.England have made a single change from the team that lost by five runs at Lord’s to go 2-0 down in the three-match series, with Jamie Overton replacing Saqib Mahmood. It means that they will again be relying on Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and potentially Joe Root to share the workload of a fifth bowler, after Bethell and Jacks returned combined figures of 1 for 112 in 10 overs on Thursday.Duckett is one of three England players – along with Harry Brook and Jamie Smith – who has featured in all 14 of their home internationals this season: six Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is. Since the start of the Hundred last month, he has only gone past 20 once in 10 innings and followed his 5 in the first ODI at Headingley with an uncharacteristically scratchy 14 off 33 balls at Lord’s.Related

Bethell, Root tons, Archer four-for see England hand out record thrashing

Jamie Overton out of Ashes amid 'indefinite break' from red-ball cricket

Overton's shock decision sounds alarm bells for England schedule

England blown to bits-and-pieces as part-timers' bowling strategy backfires

Sam Curran added to England T20I squads as Ben Duckett takes break

He has since spoken to Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, and reached the decision to miss next week’s T20Is, with Sam Curran replacing him in the squad. Marcus Trescothick, one of McCullum’s assistants, said that the call was designed to ensure Duckett is “firing” ahead of a busy winter schedule, which includes the Ashes in Australia followed by a T20 World Cup.”Brendon spoke to him over the last few days, trying to get a gauge of where he’s at,” Trescothick said. “You look at every situation individually and in its own way, looking at the volume of cricket they’ve played and by chatting with them to see how they’re feeling… This is the best [decision] to maximise performances going forward as we head into a big winter.”We need certain players to be firing, and Ben is certainly one of those… We need the boys firing going into November, December, January. That’s an important time. It’s not to say things aren’t important coming up, but sometimes you just have to take your foot off the gas a bit and rejuvenate the mind. Then, you can get back on the horse and crack on.”ESPNcricinfo LtdDuckett’s retention means that Tom Banton, the spare batter in their squad, will not feature in the series barring a late withdrawal. But he has not been released to play for Somerset in their T20 Blast quarter-final against Warwickshire on Saturday night, and will instead stay in Southampton on standby.McCullum took over England’s white-ball teams in January – becoming coach across formats – but has failed to address their slide in 50-over cricket. They have lost eight out of 11 ODIs this year, including all three matches at the Champions Trophy, and sit eighth in the ICC’s rankings after a sustained run of poor results.Eight teams will qualify for the 2027 World Cup automatically via the rankings – with South Africa and Zimbabwe guaranteed spots as Full-Member co-hosts – so England would likely have to slip below both West Indies and Bangladesh to miss out. But the mere notion of having to play in the global qualifier is a source of embarrassment for the 2019 world champions.”We’re in an interesting position where we need to climb those rankings,” Trescothick said. “Longer term, there’s a bigger picture: we need to look at being at the top of those rankings and beyond. We want to go and compete in the biggest competitions and we’ve got to be a team that has grown from where we have been to compete like we did in 2019.”The journey hasn’t been easy, of course not, but I definitely feel we’re improving and moving in the right direction even though the last two results have been disappointing… We’ve made a few changes in recent times since Brendon took over, and we feel like we’re starting to play better cricket generally.”Overton’s inclusion means he will make his first appearance for England since his decision to put his red-ball ambitions on hold took the team’s management by surprise. Rob Key, England’s managing director, said Overton’s decision was “unexpected”, but his selection for the third ODI confirms that he remains part of their white-ball plans.England XI for the third ODI vs South Africa: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid

AC Milan have now reportedly dropped their price for Rafael Leao, with Arsenal now preparing to accelerate their interest to sign the impressive Portuguese winger.

The Gunners couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the Premier League campaign, but their recent run of clean sheets finally came to an end against Sunderland.

After over 13 hours, David Raya finally picked the ball out the back of his own net courtesy of Sunderland’s Daniel Ballard. And like London buses, when one arrived, another soon followed with the Black Cats netting a last-gasp equaliser through Brian Brobbey.

Slipping up for the first time since drawing against Manchester City at the end of September, Arsenal’s recent run of form has been nothing short of excellent.

Speaking about the draw at full-time, Mikel Arteta told reporters: “The last feeling is disappointment and frustration because we wanted the three points. We had to navigate through a really tough game, we knew that. It was very disruptive; we have to deal with situations that are difficult to deal with.

“They did really well and we conceded a goal that is not in our standards, but after that I think the team reacted really well, showed a lot of personality and courage.

“They scored the first goal, they scored the second goal, we had totally dominated the game and then you have to rely on defending the box when they start to commit six or seven players there.”

Up next, Arsenal have the small matter of the North London derby in a game that represents the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways. It also represents the start of an all-important week, with Chelsea and Bayern Munich following the Tottenham Hotspur clash over a seven-day period after the international break.

It’s the type of period that Arsenal’s stars are made for and the type that Leao could soon get the chance to enjoy following the latest transfer reports.

Arsenal accelerate Leao move after learning latest discount

According to Caught Offside, Arsenal are now ready to accelerate their move to sign Leao after AC Milan dropped their price tag to around €85m (£75m) from the winger’s €150m release clause.

Goldbridge says Arteta was "massively missing" one Arsenal star v Sunderland

The summer signing’s absence against the Black Cats was noticeable.

By
James O'Reilly

Nov 8, 2025

Milan’s hierarchy is reportedly preparing for the possibility that negotiations between Leao and themselves over a new contract could yet stall and have adjusted their price tag as a result. As things stand, the Portugal international has until 2028 until his current contract runs out, but Milan’s updated stance suggests that he may not see out the final three years of that deal.

League stats 25/26	Rafael Leao	Bukayo Saka
Minutes	453	681
Goals	4	3
Assists	1	0
Successful Take-ons	5	17

When compared to Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s interest in Leao begins to make sense. On the opposite flank to the England international, the Milan star has already been involved in five league goals in just 453 minutes this season – the same as around five games.

Described as “crazy” by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in 2023, Leao is a star who’s ready to take the Premier League and The Emirates by storm.

5/10 Arsenal star had his worst game all season against Sunderland

When Celtic return to action on 22 November for a rare Saturday night extravaganza against St Mirren, who will be sat in the away dugout in Paisley?

Well, interim manager Martin O’Neill has done a pretty good job since being parachuted in following Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation, winning both Premiership matches 4-0, with goals from Johnny Kenny, Kieran Tierney, Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels downing Kilmarnock on Sunday.

​​​​​​Now, as we head into an international break, the Celtic board are surely intensifying their search for a permanent head coach, with last Thursday’s 3-1 Europa League hammering at the hands of Midtjylland perhaps underlining O’Neill’s shortcomings.

So, which of the leading candidates for the Parkhead hot seat should they prioritise appointing?

What Wilfried Nancy would bring to Celtic

In recent days, the surprise, left-field candidate who has emerged for the Celtic job is Wilfried Nancy.

The 48-year-old’s entire coaching career, to date, has come in North America, his first managerial role coming in 2021, succeeding Thierry Henry as CF Montréal head coach.

With the Impact, who are one of the lowest spending teams in Major League Soccer, Nancy miraculously led them to second in the Eastern Conference in 2022, thereby third in the overall standings, having also won the Canadian Championship the year before.

Manager Focus

Expand Collapse

However, he has seriously made a name for himself since joining Columbus Crew.

Since swapping Québec for Ohio, Nancy has enjoyed huge success in charge of the Black and Gold, winning MLS Cup in his first season and then Leagues Cup in 2024, also leading the Crew to their first-ever CONCACAF Champions Cup Final, ousting two Mexican juggernauts en route, ultimately beaten 3-0 by Pachuca in the final.

At the weekend, Columbus’ 2025 campaign came to an end, dumped out of the MLS play-offs by Hell is Real rivals FC Cincinnati, which may mean Nancy is more available now than he would have been a week ago.

This though should not denigrate what Nancy has achieved in Columbus.

Joe Lowery believes he is the most talented coach in MLS history, describing the Crew’s “patient possession” play as “so much fun to watch”, but does this mean the Frenchman would succeed in Glasgow?

Well, the step from Major League Soccer to top-level European football is massive.

Other coaches such as Gerhard Struber, Jaap Stam, Raphaël Wicky, Bob Bradley and Patrick Vieira, who have made the jump, have often struggled to make their mark at the top level, meaning it is impossible to tell if the 2024 coach of the year would fare any better.

So, who knows, appointing Nancy would certainly be a massive risk, so is there another manager already operating at the top level in Europe the Celts should chase first?

Who should be Celtic's first choice to replace Martin O'Neill

Given the current economic climate in European football, it is increasingly difficult for clubs outside Europe’s big five leagues to compete, a reality Celtic supporters experience every season, despite the fact their side have won 13 of the last 14 Premiership titles.

Well, a club who have continued to punch above their weight are Bodø/Glimt, hence why, as reported by Sky Sports, Celtic’s managerial shortlist features Kjetil Knutsen, with the report outlining that he still remains among their lengthy list of targets.

The 57-year-old has been in charge of the Yellow Horde since 2018, when they were still a second-tier outfit, but has transformed them into Norway’s dominant force.

Bodø/Glimt, who had never won the league before, have picked up four of the last five Eliteserien titles, including setting the league’s single-season points record of 81.

With two matches remaining of this campaign, which concludes on 30 November, they are second, one point below Viking, who are seeking their first title since 1991, but the race will go down to the wire.

This domestic domination has given Bødo/Glimt a platform on which to shine in Europe, which is where their most eye-catching results have come.

Bodø/Glimt European record 21/22-present

Season

Competition

Outcome

2021/22

Conference League

Quarter-finals

2022/23

Europa League

Group stages

2023/24

Conference League

Knockout stages

2024/25

Europa League

Semi-finals

2025/26

Champions League

League phase

Info via Transfermarkt

As the table documents, Bodø/Glimt have been European regulars over the last five seasons, most notably reaching the Conference League quarter-finals and last season’s Europa League semi-finals, before qualifying for the Champions League proper for the first time ever earlier this year, smashing Sturm Graz in the play-off round.

These are performances Celtic can only dream of, considering the Hoops have not won a European knockout tie since 2004, one of their numerous defeats coming at the hands of Bodø/Glimt in February 2022, Knutsen’s team demolishing Postecoglou’s side 5-1 on aggregate.

The Norwegian champions have also enjoyed noteworthy victories over Roma, Beşiktaş​​​​​​​, Crvena zvezda, Porto, Olympiacos and Lazio, while they have lost only seven of their last 38 European home matches, winning 29 of them, making Aspmyra the fortress that Celtic Park yearns to become once more.

Looking at Knutsen specifically, across his 351 matches in charge, he has always deployed an attacking 4-3-3, with width provided by adventurous full-backs, allowing wingers, including current star Jens Petter Hauge, to drift inside and score goals.

Former Norway international Jan Åge Fjørtoft praised Knutsen’s “clear philosophy” and “attractive” style of play, forecasting that he is destined to land one of the biggest jobs in European football.

So, as Celtic aspire to be as competitive on the continent as Bodø/Glimt have become, Knutsen would be a statement appointment, surely one an entire divided fan base could get behind.

Nancy has his own credentials, but it is Knutsen who might just be the ideal pick.

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Posts ByBen Gray Nov 9, 2025

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