Celtic Under-20s coach Jim McGuinness has confirmed he will be leaving Glasgow for China where he will link up with Roger Schmidt at Beijing Sinobo Guoan.
The 44-year-old Irishman began working within the Hoops’ setup in 2012, initially working as a performance consultant on a part-time basis.
He has served under each of Neil Lennon, Ronny Deila and Brendan Rodgers during his time in Glasgow and progressed from his part-time role to working with Tommy McIntyre and the development squad in the last campaign.
But, he will now join ex-Bayer Leverkusen boss Schmidt in China and McGuinness has explained that it has come at the right time for him to move forward with his career alongside stating his hopes of returning to Celtic.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” told McGuinness to the Irish Times about the move.
“It’s a level up for me and a great honour to be asked. Roger is a really prestigious European coach and just to be part of his management team is a great privilege. I also feel that it’s great timing in terms of taking the next step forward in my own coaching career.
“In terms of Celtic, every decision that was made was with their knowledge. Dermot Desmond, in particular, was implicit in any decision made. And I’d like to think that the umbilical cord won’t be cut. Everyone in the club has been hugely supportive and hopefully I will return there someday as a better coach.”
It is detailed in the report that McGuinness has agreed a two-and-a-half year contract with the Beijing club and that he will travel to China on Saturday to take up his new role on Monday.
Schmidt’s side are currently sat in seventh place in the Chinese Super League, which is currently 14 matches into their new season.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers and his team are currently away in Austria as they prepare to defend their Premiership title win in the next campaign.