Japan have placed Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou at the top of their wanted list should they be looking for a new manager after the World Cup.
The Hoops gaffer arrived in Scottish football from Japan, after overseeing an impressive job at Yokahama F. Marinos.
The Japanese face a group against Germany, Costa Rica and Spain for the upcoming tournament in Qatar.
Manager Hajime Moriyasu could well remain in his post following their World Cup campaign.
However, while that is still unclear, Postecoglou has been namechecked as a potential replacement in the national team role should a change be made.
Nikkan Sports report that Japan technical director, Yasuharu Sorimachi, has asked Postecoglou about the possibility of leading Japan forward.
Should that be a move that Postecoglou does take, it would be the second time that he dipped into international mangement.
He spent four years as top dog of the Australia national side, winning the Asia Cup and qualifying for two consecutive World Cups.
This new report states that, this experience, coupled with his extensive knowledge of Japanese football, makes him a prime candidate to succeed Moriyasu.
Of Celtic's strong Japanese contingent in their squad, only Daizen Maeda is headed for the Middle East to compete in the World Cup.
Both Reo Hatate and Kyogo will be hoping to be involved in years to come.
READ MORE: How Celtic's Champions League goal can 'drag up' Scottish football
READ MORE: Celtic manager hails Parkhead recruitment guru Mark Lawwell
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here