Leeds United are reportedly set to sign Gamba Osaka’s Yosuke Ideguchi.
Borussia Dortmund playmaker Shinji Kagawa has mentioned Leeds United target Yosuke Ideguchi as a ‘wonderful’ player in his own personal blog.
Leeds have been busy exploring the European market in recent months, helping them land the likes of Ezgjan Alioski, Samu Saiz and Pierre-Michel Lasogga, but they’re also looking towards Asia.
Last week, Leeds sporting director Victor Orta revealed that the club were close to signing a player from Asia, which is directly tied to the appointment of Toshiya Fujita as Head of Football Development for Asia.
Fujita appears to have already found a player for Leeds to target, as the Yorkshire Evening Post reported on Monday that a deal for Gamba Osaka midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi is nearing completion ahead of the January transfer window.
Ideguchi, 21, has emerged as one of the top young talents in Japan, and already has three caps for his country, whilst he even won the J.League’s Rookie of the Year award last season.
The midfielder looks set for a big future, and Leeds look poised to secure his signature, with the possibility of loaning him out if he doesn’t qualify for a work permit.
Shinji Kagawa of Japan celebrates scoring
Leeds fans may not be too familiar with Ideguchi, but Borussia Dortmund star, former Manchester United ace and Japan international Shinji Kagawa certainly is, and he has spoken about Ideguchi on his personal blog, offering words that should excite Leeds supporters.
Kagawa named three young Japanese players – Yuya Kubo, Takuma Asano and Ideguchi – as ‘wonderful’ players, suggesting that there are plenty more Japanese talents out there, which is great for the state of Japanese football.
“Yuya, Yosuke, Takuma, they are wonderful players. There are many other young good players, it is a very good thing for the Japanese football world,” said Kagawa.
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