Dutchman Sef Vergoossen had been named as a candidate to take over as manager of underachieving J. League first-division club Nagoya Grampus Eight, soccer sources said Tuesday.
Hitoshi Nakata has been acting as caretaker manager since Nagoya fired Brazilian manager Nelsinho in September after a string of poor results but the club are keen to hire a European manager for next season.
The 58-year-old Vergoossen, former manager of Belgian club Racing Genk, is currently in charge at Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates. Nagoya will appoint a new manager by the end of this month.