Celtic coach was excused duties at Dundee

Harry Kewell is reported to be finalising his backroom team for Yokohama F Marinos before being announced as their new manager.

The former Leeds and Liverpool winger was missing from the Celtic bench at Dens Park on Tuesday, it remains to be seen whether he will be back at Celtic.

News of interest from Yokohama first surfaced at the start of the month, with a move to the J-League expected it gives Brendan Rodgers the opportunity to bring in his own man during the winter break.

The Daily Record reports:

Celtic coach Harry Kewell has been given time off to finalise his switch to Yokohama F. Marinos.

The Australian wasn’t on the Hoops bench as Brendan Rodgers’ side beat Dundee on Boxing Day. Instead, Kewell has been given a leave of absence to sort out his potential move to Japan and also to spend some time with his family over the festive period. The former Leeds and Liverpool star remains in talks with the J-League side over a return to frontline management.

A deal is at an advanced stage but Kewell has still to finalise his backroom before he formally agrees to any deal. Yokohama want Kewell to replace his former Australian teammate Kevin Muscat, who recommended him for the job. The Japanese side have had a strong tradition of Australian managers as Ange Postecoglou had a spell there before he went to Celtic.

Kewell could have drifted out of football if he hadn’t been brought in as first team coach by Postecoglou in the summer of 2022.

After an elite level playing career the former Australian internationalist toiled to make an impact in management with little success during stints in charge of Oldham and Barnet.

The intrigue now for Celtic fans will be to see who comes in to work alongside John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan in the hoops coaching staff.