By Richard Bailey Last updated: 9th December 2008
Nakamura: Eyeing end of season transfer
Yokohama F Marinos have cooled their immediate interest in Celtic's Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura.
The Hoops star has made no secret of the fact that he wishes to leave Parkhead and return to his homeland for family reasons and to re-ignite his international career.
However Yokohama president Masaharu Saito admitted that the club will wait until the end of the season to sign the player, when his contract runs out.
Yokohama are sponsored by car manufacturer Nissan but due to the economic crisis, the club could not match Celtic's valuation of the player and will now look to sign him for free by waiting for his contract to run out.
"Due to the current economic situation, we will not be signing Nakamura in January," Saito said to the Japanese press.
"We are still interested in him but have postponed negotiations for the time being."
Yokohama are currently 9th in the Japanese league.

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| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| 12:30 | Hearts vs St Johnstone |
| 15:00 | Falkirk vs Hamilton |
| 15:00 | Motherwell vs Aberdeen |
| 15:00 | Rangers vs Kilmarnock |
| 15:00 | St Mirren vs Hibernian |
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| 12:30 | Dundee Utd vs Celtic |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Aberdeen vs Rangers |
| 15:00 | Celtic vs St Mirren |
| 15:00 | Hibernian vs Falkirk |
| 15:00 | Kilmarnock vs Hearts |
| 15:00 | Motherwell vs Dundee Utd |
| 15:00 | St Johnstone vs Hamilton |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| 12:30 | Falkirk vs Rangers |
| 15:00 | Celtic vs Aberdeen |
| 15:00 | Dundee Utd vs St Mirren |
| 15:00 | Hibernian vs Motherwell |
| 15:00 | St Johnstone vs Kilmarnock |
| Sunday 6th December | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Hamilton vs Hearts |
| Saturday 12th December | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Motherwell vs Celtic |
| 15:00 | Aberdeen vs Hamilton |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| Falkirk 3 - 3 Celtic | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| Hearts 0 - 0 Hibernian | |
| Hamilton 2 - 2 Motherwell | |
| Kilmarnock 0 - 2 Dundee Utd | |
| Rangers 2 - 1 St Mirren | |
| Aberdeen 2 - 1 St Johnstone | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| Motherwell 1 - 0 Hearts | |
| Hibernian 2 - 0 Aberdeen | |
| Celtic 3 - 0 Kilmarnock | |
| St Johnstone 3 - 1 Falkirk | |
| St Mirren 0 - 2 Hamilton | |
| Sunday 25th October | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| Hamilton 1 - 2 Celtic | |
| Saturday 24th October | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| Aberdeen 0 - 2 Dundee Utd | |
| Kilmarnock 2 - 1 St Johnstone | |
| Hearts 0 - 0 Falkirk | |
| Rangers 1 - 1 Hibernian | |
| St Mirren 3 - 3 Motherwell | |
| Saturday 17th October | |
| Clydesdale Bank Premier League | |
| St Johnstone 1 - 2 Rangers | |
| Falkirk 1 - 3 St Mirren | |
| Celtic 0 - 0 Motherwell | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 11 | 24 |
| 2 | Rangers | 10 | 22 |
| 3 | Hibernian | 11 | 21 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 11 | 18 |
| 6 | Aberdeen | 11 | 14 |
| 7 | St Mirren | 11 | 12 |
| 8 | Hearts | 11 | 10 |
| 9 | St Johnstone | 11 | 9 |
| 10 | Kilmarnock | 11 | 9 |
| 11 | Hamilton Academical | 11 | 9 |
| 12 | Falkirk | 11 | 5 |
Sunderland fan Lucinda Gittins was strutting her stuff in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Barca were stunned by a late leveller, Gers' match was abandoned while Inter march on in Serie A.
Mark Stewart was the toast of the Falkirk faithful as his late equaliser stunned Celtic in what was a pulsating six-goal thriller.
The Edinburgh derby ended in stalemate as Rangers cut the gap on leaders Celtic with a win over St Mirren.
Aberdeen recorded a welcome win over an unlucky St Johnstone in an entertaining tussle at Pittodrie which ended 2-1.
Kris Boyd further underlined his value to Rangers on Saturday with a double in a 2-1 win over St Mirren.
Lukas Jutkiewicz scored a late equaliser as Motherwell were held to a 2-2 draw by 10-man Hamilton.