Benni McCarthy is on the verge of taking over as head coach of the Kenyan national team, as per reports from East Africa.

The Harambee Stars have been courting McCarthy for the past few weeks. In fact, his appointment was expected to be ratified in December last year.

However, there appear to have been delays in getting the deal over the line.

McCarthy, who’s Bafana Bafana’s all-time leading goalscorer with 31 goals in 80 matches, is expected to touch down in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Wednesday to put pen to paper.

The Cape Town-born marksman is taking along Moeneeb Josephs and Vasili Manousakis as goalkeeper coach and assistant coach, respectively.

Josephs is a former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, while Manousakis has had some coaching stints with Cape Town City, AmaZulu, Richards Bay and Cape Town Spurs, mainly as an assistant coach.

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has reportedly set the unveiling of the new technical team for Friday, and while McCarthy has roped in his own backroom staff, it’s expected that there’d be Kenyans in his team.

McCarthy’s first assignment will be the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against The Gambia and Gabon on 17 and 24 March.

He returns to the dugout for the first time since he left Manchester United, where he was first-team coach from July 2022 until June 2024.

McCarthy, 47, remains the only South African to have won the UEFA Champions League, during his time with Portuguese side, Porto, where he was coached by coaching legend Jose Mourinho.