Midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi is set to leave Celtic and return to Japan in a rather similar exit to his Leeds United departure.
That’s according to the Scottish Daily Mail (26/12, back page), as they claim that Ideguchi is ‘poised to return home’ in the January window.
Celtic are currently chasing a deal for Yokohama F. Marinos midfielder Tomoki Iwata.
J1 League Player of the Year Iwata is set to reunite with his former boss Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead with a loan-to-buy deal imminent.
Iwata is seemingly being lined up to replace Ideguchi though, meaning Celtic’s Japanese contingent isn’t expanding to six after all.
It instead looks to be one in and one out with Ideguchi’s rather disappointing time at Celtic set to come to an end.
Ideguchi to leave Celtic in Leeds deja vu
Ideguchi was one of three Japanese arrivals in January 2022, following Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate to Glasgow.
Maeda has blown hot and cold whilst Hatate has been a revelation, but Ideguchi has barely been seen in the famous green and white hoops.
The 26-year-old hasn’t played a single minute of first-team action this season and has only ever played six times for Celtic.
A move away from Parkhead isn’t a surprise at all but it will feel like deja vu for the midfielder.
Ideguchi joined Leeds United in January 2018 having shown huge promise with Gamba Osaka.
Ideguchi failed to make a single first-team appearance for Leeds and after underwhelming loan spells at Cultural Leonesa and Greuther Furth, he returned to Gamba Osaka.
Celtic offered Ideguchi another shot at success in Europe but it hasn’t worked out again, with a return to Japan on the cards for a second time.
A return to Gamba Osaka yet again wouldn’t surprise anyone and it now feels unlikely that another club in the UK will move to sign him in the future.
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