Nakamura returning to Japan

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MADRID, Feb 26, 2010 (AFP) - Spanish first division side Espanyol said Friday they had reached a deal to sell theirs Japanese international midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura to his former side Yokohama Marinos.

The club gave no financial details but according to Spanish media the deal was worth just over one million euros (1.3 million dollars).

Nakamura, 31, rejected the opportunity to join Yokohama last year and signed a two-year deal with Espanyol instead after leaving Scottish giants Celtic.

But he has struggled to find his place in the team of the Barcelona-based club and has spent most of his time on the bench since he was presented as a member of Espanyol in July before over 6,000 fans.

At Espanyol the former Scottish Player of the Year faced competition for a position against a linep of attacking players such as Ivan de la Pena and Luis Garcia.

Nakamura played for Japanese top flight side Yokohama between 1997 and 2002. He then spent three years with Italy's Reggina before joining Celtic in 2005.

Three Japanese have failed to make impression in La Liga before him -- Shoji Jo at Real Valladolid 1999-2000, Akinori Nishizawa at Espanyol 2000-2001 and Yoshito Okubo at Mallorca 2004-2005.