Gagnon appointed Bournemouth Set Piece Coach
Written by
Simon Austin
August 9, 2026
Former Southampton Set Piece Coach Nicolas Gagnon has joined Marco Rose’s staff at Bournemouth.
The Canadian effectively replaces Shaun Cooper and Tommy Elphick, who shared set piece duties at the club (Cooper focused on attacking set pieces and Elphick on defensive ones) for three seasons. The duo moved with Andoni Iraola to Liverpool this summer.
Gagnon joins the Cherries after a spell with the Canada national team at the World Cup, where they reached the last 16 for the first time in their history. He previously worked for Southampton, initially joining in October 2024 under Head Coach Russell Martin and continuing under his successor Ivan Juric.
Gagnon began his coaching career in grassroots football in Canada, spending more than a decade as a coach, Technical Director and Coach Educator before further developing his experience in Brazil.
He spent 11 years at CF Montreal, as Head of Methodology, Academy Head Coach and Assistant Coach, and joined Sport Republic’s Goztepe in Turkey as First Team Set Piece Coach in September 2023.
Alongside his coaching responsibilities, he also supported recruitment analysis across the Sport Republic group. Then he moved full-time to Southampton, another of Sport Republic’s clubs, from October 2024 to September 2025.
His CV includes Canada Soccer Coaching A Diplomas, as well as a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a sports coaching specialisation from the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. Gagnon speaks French, Portuguese, Spanish and English, and has lived in five different countries throughout his coaching career.
Gagnon was part of the same Canada coaching staff at the World Cup as Ewan Sharp, the Scot who has been the national team’s Assistant Coach and Head Analyst under Jesse Marsch since 2024. Sharp wrote for TGG earlier this year on the challenges of transferring a club style of coaching into the international game.
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