Next Celtic manager odds: Kjetil Knutsen leads race to replace Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead

Kjetil Knutsen is now favourite ahead of Wilfried Nancy and Martin O’Neill, with Kieran McKenna and Shaun Maloney also linked to the Parkhead job.

Celtic are still on the lookout for a permanent replacement for Brendan Rodgers who left his role at Parkhead last month.

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Since Rodgers departed, however, the Bhoys have been in decent form, bouncing back from the 3-1 loss at league leaders Hearts with three successive domestic wins over Falkirk, Rangers and Kilmarnock.

A 3-1 loss at Danish side FC Midtjylland was the only blip on the record book as Martin O’Neill makes his case to take over on a permanent basis.

O’Neill was the favourite to take over as Celtic boss, who are still favourites for the Scottish Premiership title, despite trailing Hearts in the table. But even after a 4-0 win over Kilmarnock, there’s another frontrunner for the vacant role in Glasgow.

Kjetil Knutsen

Having been priced at 9/1 with Sky Bet last week, Kjetil Knutsen is now the 9/4 favourite on bet365 to succeed Rodgers permanently. 

The Norwegian is locked in the midst of a title race in the Eliteserien with his Bodo/Glimt side one point behind league leaders Viking with two games to play.

Knutsen is unlikely to leave Bodoe/Glimt before the season draws to a close but with his current deal expiring at the end of the year, Celtic may be happy to wait to lure the 57-year-old to Glasgow. 

Knutsen favours an attacking 4-3-3 setup and the style implemented at the Aspmyra Stadion would certainly appease supporters.

Wilfried Nancy

Columbus Crew were dumped out of the MLS playoffs by FC Cincinnati, and that may see Celtic accelerate their push to land Wilfried Nancy. 

The Frenchman was at 10/1 with Ladbrokes to succeed Rodgers last week, but the Crew’s weekend loss means his price has shortened to 5/2 with the same bookmaker.

Nancy signed a contract extension with the MLS side last April but the length of his new deal wasn’t made public, hinting that he still has a little time to run on his contract. 

That would mean Celtic would have to pay some form of compensation to the Crew for the Frenchman, who favours a three-man backline. Nancy’s appointment, then, would result in a change in style at Parkhead, with a 4-3-3 setup more or less set in stone.

Martin O’Neill

Martin O’Neill has done his chances of taking over the Celtic reins permanently no harm during his interim stint back in Glasgow. 

The 73-year-old has masterminded big wins over Falkirk and Kilmarnock. A victory over rivals Rangers in the Scottish League Cup will have certainly worked in his favour.

Yet the general consensus is that O’Neill is merely keeping the Celtic Park seat warm rather than in the running for the role. 

Indeed, O’Neill was the 3/1 favourite with Coral to take over as Celtic boss last week. He’s since drifted to 5/1, the best price available with William Hill.

Kieran McKenna

Ipswich have been in decent form since Rodgers was dismissed as Celtic boss. Kieran McKenna didn’t allow talk of a potential Celtic switch impact his Tractor Boys side as they seek an immediate Premier League return.

Ipswich extended their unbeaten run to four matches at the weekend, with a 4-1 victory over Swansea.

The result moved Ipswich to within two points of the playoff places and McKenna is unlikely to depart for pastures new at this stage of the season. 

With that in mind, it’s not a surprise that the 39-year-old has drifted from 11/2 to 10/1 with William Hill to leave Ipswich for Celtic.

Shaun Maloney

Martin O’Neill wasn’t the only former Celtic hero to return to the dugout last month. Shaun Maloney was named interim assistant manager to the former when Rodgers left, stepping away from his role as Professional Player Pathway Manager (PPPM) in the process. 

However, Maloney is adamant that his decision to assist O’Neill is only temporary and will be looking to return to the PPPM once a permanent Rodgers replacement is found.

With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that Maloney has drifted to 18/1 with bet365 to take over as Celtic boss. 

While he’s been key in the club’s turnaround alongside O’Neill on the touchline, the 42-year-old only moved into his previous role in June and is unlikely to step away after only a few months.

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