Celtic have announced midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi has returned to Japan after agreeing to join J1 League side Avispa Fukuoka on a year-long loan. Celtic confirmed in a statement this morning – “Yosuke Ideguchi has joined J.League side Avispa Fukuoka on a year-long loan from Celtic. Good luck, Yosuke!”
Yosuke Ideguchi has joined J.League side Avispa Fukuoka on a year-long loan from #CelticFC
Good luck, Yosuke! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/bJtKpE0a9I
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) February 7, 2023
‘Guchi’ arrived at Celtic alongside fellow Japanese imports Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda in January last year, but the writing has been on the wall for some time for Ideguchi, after playing just six games last season and having yet to feature at all in the current campaign.
Whilst Hatate and Maeda have gone on to prove themselves at Celtic, Ideguchi has not had the rub of the green in a Celtic shirt his Japanese compatriots did.
A vicious challenge in a Scottish Cup tie at Alloa initially saw the player side-lined with a horrendous early injury, and that is something that has followed him through his time at Celtic.
With competition for his shirt coming in the shape of club captain Callum McGregor, even without the intervention of horrendous luck with injuries, it was always unlikely Ideguchi would have been a regular contributor to the Celtic cause. And with Tomoki Iwata, the J-League MVP of last season joining Celtic in the last transfer window, opportunities to turn around his fortunes at Celtic were dwindling fast.
With rumours of homesickness also surrounding the player, it is probably ideal for the midfielder to return home to Japan to pick up his career and get playing football again. And although the current deal appears at this stage to be a loan rather than a permanent switch, it is unlikely we’ll see Ideguchi in a Celtic shirt again.
It has been a tough set of circumstances for Yosuke to deal with and if it hadn’t been for bad luck, Ideguchi would have had no luck at all in his time in Scottish football, but I’m sure every Celtic fan will wish the player all the best, as the 26-year-old returns to Japan just looking to kick a ball competitively one again.
The very best of luck to him and his family.
Niall J
