IT’s been 430 days since he was last in the dugout.
But it’s been everything but a quiet spell away from the touchline for ex-Hibs boss Lee Johnson since he was shown the door by Fleetwood in December 2023.
Lee Johnson is closing in on his return to the dugout[/caption]
He worked with Pep Guardiola last year[/caption]
The Englishman has been a very busy man away from his usual roles as a manager, whether it’d be spending time with his family or focusing on his own personal growth.
From working with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City to a stint in Denmark with Superliga giants FC Copenhagen, it’s been a crazy few months for the 43-year-old.
He even operated as a scout in Africa at one point too.
But now Johnson is finally closing in on his long-awaited return to the dugout.
The former Hearts and Kilmarnock midfielder is reportedly set to be announced as the new manager of Belgian side Lommel.
Belgian journalist Sven Claes claimed today that Johnson has reached an agreement with the club and an announcement is expected to be made soon.
It’s a shock move for the out-of-work gaffer who has never managed outside of the UK before.
But it won’t be too far out of his comfort zone as Lommel are part of the City Football Group, the company which also owns Manchester City.
And speaking to Sky Sports last month, Johnson revealed his relationship with the company has been longstanding having played under Brian Marwood, the managing director of global football at CFG, when he was a youngster at Arsenal.
He said: “Many moons ago, the LMA put on a course for young coaches who they thought could potentially end up as England manager. There were 15 or so of us.
“I was at Oldham and City were just starting to develop the group model, looking for clubs to partner with.
“So, they sort of let me behind the curtain at City. I worked with a Gwen Byrom, who was a sort of psychologist and personality profiler.”
Johnson was even asked at the time if he’d ever consider managing one of the clubs owned by the company.
He said: “There have been a couple of opportunities. It is something I would love to do at some point.”
Johnson role at the Etihad last year involved coaching fringe players and helping youngsters secure loans away from the club.
He even got up close and personal with Guardiola himself.
Clubs owned by City Football Group
- Manchester City (100 per cent)
- Melbourne City (100 per cent)
- Montevideo City Torque (100 per cent)
- Troyes (100 per cent)
- Lommel (99 per cent)
- Palermo (94.94 per cent)
- Bahia (90 per cent)
- New York City (80 per cent)
- Mumbai City (65 per cent)
- Girona (47 per cent)
- Shenzhen Peng City (47 per cent)
- Yokohama F. Marinos (20 per cent)
He said: “That was another brilliant experience, working with high-quality players.
“You never quite knew the numbers because Pep [Guardiola] would whip 10 away for the pitch next door so I had a little bit of a taste of my own medicine!”
After leaving Man City he was sent by a major club to be a scout and coach in Nigeria before signing a short-term contract with the Danish champions.
He continued: “I have just come back from FC Copenhagen. Talking to the sports psychologist out there was fascinating.
“I went out to Nigeria. That was a really interesting experience as well. Just scratching the itch of curiosity, really. Trying to study and learn and evolve.
“I enjoyed the football and the country. It helped me to understand the journey of some African players a bit more.”
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