Celtic star was “set to” leave, now he could be the new Tierney under Nancy
Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has his work cut out for him at Parkhead after a frustrating first match in charge of the club against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
A 2-1 defeat to the league leaders proved that the Frenchman has plenty of issues to solve and plenty still to learn about the squad of players that he has at his disposal.
The former Columbus Crew head coach has a big group of players to work with in Glasgow, and there are a number of stars who he should give an opportunity to in the coming weeks.
The rarely-seen Celtic stars Nancy should unleash
Kelechi Iheanacho, for example, was an unused substitute against Hearts after returning from injury, and he should be given a chance to lead the line after Daizen Maeda missed two ‘big chances’, per Sofascore, on Sunday.
The Nigerian centre-forward has scored three goals in eight appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants this season, per Sofascore, and could emerge as Nancy’s first-choice number nine.
Another rarely-seen star who could benefit from the change in shape to a 3-4-2-1 could be Dane Murray, who has started two league games this season, as he is a naturally right-sided centre-back who can provide balance when playing out from the back.
Auston Trusty played in that role on Sunday, as a left-footed player, and was slow to bring the ball forward and progress the play, as he was on his weaker side, which could open the door for Murray to come in and take that spot.
Colby Donovan was also snubbed in Nancy’s first game, playing zero minutes, but he could emerge as the manager’s own Kieran Tierney in the right wing-back position, having been set to leave in the summer window.
Wilfried Nancy is brewing the next Tierney
The 19-year-old academy graduate was “set to join Dundee on loan for the season”, per journalist Josh McCafferty, in the summer transfer window, before an injury to Alistair Johnston meant that he was needed as a first-team option at Parkhead.
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Donovan has gone on to play 716 minutes across 12 appearances for the first-team, per Sofascore, since the decision was made to keep him at the club, instead of sending him out on loan, and he has shown real promise.
The Scotland U21 international is looking to follow in Kieran Tierney’s footsteps in Glasgow, as the left-back came through the academy to provide a big threat down the left flank as an attacking full-back.
In his first spell with the club, as shown in the graphic above, the Scotland international provided an eye-catching 37 assists in 170 matches for the club, and Donovan has the potential to provide a similar threat in this new system.
Hyun-jun Yang started at right wing-back against Hearts. However, Nancy could move him over to the left and unleash the academy graduate on the right to provide crosses on that side.
xA
0.14
Top 28%
Assists
0.28
Top 1%
Long pass accuracy
46.2%
Top 23%
Chances created
1.12
Top 39%
Successful crosses
1.12
Top 25%
Touches in opposition’s box
2.80
Top 14%
Donovan, as shown in the statistics above, has stood out as one of the most impressive creative right-backs in the Premiership this season under Brendan Rodgers and Martin O’Neill, whilst playing as a right-back.
Playing as a wing-back under Nancy would give him even more opportunities to push forward and show off his creativity in the final third, which could improve his output as a creator and make him a Tierney-esque threat on the right-hand side.
Whilst Johnston is still to return from his injury eventually, unleashing Donovan in this new role could provide him with a chance to nail down a regular starting spot in the team to become the next academy graduate to become a star at Parkhead, like Tierney.
His emergence in the first-team this season, after being set to go out on loan in the summer, is perhaps a lesson that Celtic can learn from, as they could give more opportunities to their academy players to see if they have what it takes to play for the senior side before letting them move on, permanently or on loan.
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