Does Damian Duff leaving open a door for Henrik Larsson?

With the news that Damien Duff has Celtic, the question is whether that creates a coaching role at the club for Henrik Larsson.

Back in April it was announced that Duff would be joining the new coaching team being established by Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny. He is due to start there on 1 August. At the time it was believed Duff would also continue to coach at Celtic although acknowledged that his current contract expired in June.

On Saturday though Neil Lennon confirmed he was on the look out for a replacement first team coach to replace Duff who will focus on the national side. It’s quite a loss with many reports over the season admiring how well Duff stepped up into the role when Brendan Rodgers left. All the talk was of great respect for his coaching by the players.

In terms of a replacement, time will tell but you’d expect Celtic to have been on to that from the original announcement. There may be a chance to promote from within and Darren O’Dea, for example, is said to have made a great impression over recent months in charge of the U18s.

But perhaps for greatest impact and balance across the coaching team there is an opportunity for an ex forward player to bring their skills and experience. Celtic have always been strong in defensive coaches with the likes of John Kennedy, but forwards as coaches have been less prevalent.

Is this the time for the return of Henrik Larsson to the club? Could he use his experience and skills to the benefit of the whole squad but also for the forwards particularly? Recent talk was of him being part of a syndicate looking to buy a football club, but that may be on hold in the current climate. Maybe he’d relish the chance to be part of the coaching team for 10 in a row.