Dean Barker has been linked with a Japanese syndicate who are expected to announce their challenge for the America’s Cup in the next few days.

The New Zealander was helmsman of Emirates Team New Zealand who came within a point of beating Oracle Team USA in San Francisco in 2013.

He has since been sacked as the skipper of Team New Zealand and Japan appear poised to cash in on Barker’s foiling expertise and 20 years of America’s Cup sailing.

The Japanese syndicate, to be helmed by a Japanese skipper, will be sponsored by Softbank for the Kansai Yacht Club and is expected, like the French team, to be offered some support by the cup holder and defender Oracle, which represents the Golden Gate Yacht Club.

It is anticipated that Oracle boss Larry Ellison and team CEO Sir Russell Coutts will attend the signing ceremony along with Masoyashi San, the Softbank CEO.

Coutts, a five-times America’s Cup winner and America’s Cup Event Authority CEO, has suggested that the present line-up of five teams would be bolstered by late entries as a result of cost cutting measures — namely the reduction in size of the wing-sail foiling catamarans — agreed upon by the majority of the teams.

Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa, the Italian challenger, both voted against the revised class rule with the latter withdrawing from the 2017 America’s Cup, criticising decisions by organisers as unprecedented and illegitimate.

“I think we will definitely see other teams coming in because of the boat change, and I can tell you there’s a Japanese team coming in,” Coutts said.

“And when you see who the owner of that team is, you would debate whether it’s bigger or smaller than Luna Rossa.”

Japan have contested three America’s Cups, in 1992, 1995 and 2000, and have strong New Zealand ties.

Kiwi Chris Dickson skippered their 1992 challenge in San Diego where they reached the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Then, at the 1995 regatta in San Diego, another Kiwi, John Cutler, was at the helm of the Japanese challenge that also ended at the semi-final stage.