With Ange Postecoglou leaving for Tottenham Hotspur, Celtic are looking at another summer of change. The Australian completely transformed the squad during his time at Parkhead, winning five trophies while playing an incredible brand of football at the same time. Thus, we can only thank him for his contributions but it is time to move on and concentrate on the future.
Postecoglou leaves behind some big boots to fill. A variety of names have been linked with the club in recent times as his possible replacement. Some make a lot of sense, like Brendan Rodgers or Graham Potter. Others, not so much.
Amidst all this, one manager that many Celtic fans have pushed for on social media is Kjetil Knutsen. He is currently the manager of Norwegian side, Bodo/Glimt.
Of course, Celtic will know Knutsen’s capabilities well. They came up against Bodo/Glimt in the UEFA Europa Conference League not too long ago. And the Hoops were played off the park over the two legs, losing 5-1 on aggregate. It was clearly enough to impress the supporters.
Knutsen’s Celtic comments emerge amid rumours
Knutsen appears to be have a lot of respect for Celtic as well. As reported by the Daily Record, he had said back in 2022:
"“We know we are playing against a big club with a great history and we will play against a team who at the moment is in great progress with a lot of confidence.“Hopefully, we will play in full stadium. I have been here once. It is a big task for us, but we have played big teams before and done well so I really feel we are well-prepared.“We are never talking about winning, we are talking about the performance and developing. The players and the team and the result will come because of hard work every day. It is our culture.”"
Someone like Knutsen would certainly be a manager whose arrival would please the Celtic fans. At the same time though, there would be plenty of risk involved as well.
For starters, Knutsen did not enjoy a lot of success in management before his recent spell at Bodo/Glimt. At the same time, he has never managed outside of Norway either.
Thus, while there is no doubt that he is a good coach, would that translate at Celtic? That is a big question that the board must try to find the answer to before trying to bring in Knutsen.