Postecoglou admits Celtic signing has endured ‘difficult’ start as Leeds struggles loom large

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Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has admitted that midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi is having a difficult time after his January move to Parkhead.

Postecoglou has utilised his knowledge of the Japanese market to land some truly outstanding signings for Celtic.

Kyogo Furuhashi was the first as he arrived from Vissel Kobe last summer and Postecoglou repeated the trick in January.

This time it was three Japanese players arriving as Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi all came in.

Hatate has looked tired of late but made an outstanding impact after his move from Kawasaki Frontale.

Maeda has been perfect for Postecoglou’s style of play, playing with intensity and relentless work rate in the final third.

Maeda played under Postecoglou at Yokohama F. Marinos, so maybe that move shouldn’t have been a surprise.

The final addition was midfielder Ideguchi as he came in from Gamba Osaka.

Whilst Hatate and Maeda have been first-team players, Ideguchi has been more of a fringe figure since arriving.

Ideguchi has only played 106 minutes for Celtic and none since playing six minutes in March across two displays against Dundee United and St Mirren.

Ideguchi wasn’t even on the bench against Rangers today and now hasn’t played for Celtic in over a month.

Postecoglou has now admitted to The Express that Ideguchi is having a difficult time because he has barely been given a chance.

Postecoglou thinks that Ideguchi will still become a ‘strong contributor’ for Celtic moving forward, but he will just have to be patient.

“Ideguchi obviously hasn’t had much of an opportunity, which has been a bit difficult for him and for me because I really think he will be a strong contributor for us when he gets an opportunity. But, it’s just the way the games have gone,” he added.

You could forgive Ideguchi for fearing that his Leeds United fate is repeating itself.

Ideguchi left Gamba Osaka for Leeds in 2018 but never made a single appearance for the Whites.

Never given a chance to shine, Ideguchi ended up spending most of his time out on loan before being allowed to return to Gamba Osaka.

Having made a slow start to life at Celtic, Ideguchi will be hoping to get a chance soon and show that he really can make an impact in British football.