Leeds United have done a deal for the Japanese international but he will not be available to them until next season.
As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this week, Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign Yosuke Ideguchi in January, and they will loan him out for the second half of the season before attempting to secure a work permit next summer.
While the Japanese international will not be making his Leeds debut for quite some time, that does not mean he cannot indirectly influence the club’s promotion push this time round, with news of his signing potentially forcing the Whites’ current midfielders to up their game while they can.
The likes of Ronaldo Vieira, Kalvin Phillips and Eunan O’Kane have all played a role this season as Leeds push for a return to the top flight, but they will know their place in the side is at risk once Ideguchi arrives, and what better way to ward off the prospect of being dropped than to turn on the style in the months ahead?
There are few motivating factors for footballers quite like the prospect of being overlooked in favour of a new addition and for once Leeds’ current crop of midfielders have the chance to lay down a fresh marker of their own before the challenge becomes real.
Leeds boss Thomas Christiansen will be hoping to see his engine room excel as he attempts to guide the club back to the top flight after far too long away.
After all, players who have secured promotion with their club are a lot harder to usurp than those who fell short the previous year.
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