Leeds United signed Yosuke Ideguchi in January and loaned him out to Cultural Leonesa but now he is going to miss the World Cup.
Just a few months ago, Yosuke Ideguchi looked a certainty for Japan’s World Cup squad.
It was his stunning goal in a 2-0 win against Australia that secured the Asian nation’s place en route to Russia after all. But, since moving to Leeds United from J-League club Gamba Osaka in January, it has all gone wrong for one of the standout young talents in Far East football.
Ideguchi was immediately loaned out to Leeds’ Spanish sister club Cultural Leonesa in January but, like fellow Whites man Ouasim Bouy before him, failed to make any kind of impact in the Segunda division.
Ideguchi made just five appearances for Cultural, starting once. And it seems that his lack of playing time over the last few months has cost him dear.
Because the 21-year-old, Japan’s hero in qualifying, has been left out of his country’s 23-man squad for the World Cup. As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds sent Ideguchi out to Spain because they believed he would find regular minutes easier to come by for Cultural, allowing him to secure his place on the plane to Russia.
But that decision has now spectacularly backfired. And Leeds fans cannot help but sympathise with Ideguchi and wonder just what their club was thinking.
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