Nissan puts hold on Shunsuke Nakamura move

The much ballyhooed move of Blue Samurai Shunsuke Nakamura from Celtic to J-League’s Yokohama has been squashed as the F Marinos parent company, Nissan, is cutting costs during the worldwide financial meltdown.

The thirty year-old veteran has expressed an intense desire to return to Japan with Yokohama, where his professional career commenced in 1997. Although his contract is set to expire June, the Yokohama F Marinos had noted an interest to bring him during the January transfer window so that he would be available at the start of the J-League season. However Nissan as decided to hold-back on the fee, rumoured to be £3m and wait till his contract expires in June and he can join the club without additional cost.