It’s all go at Elland Road this summer. With Marcelo Bielsa now confirmed as manager for next season, they can start plotting their moves in the transfer window both in and out. Work has already begun on the out part at least, as Japanese midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi looks set to depart having failed to make a single competitive appearance for the side.
Having been bought by the club for £500,000 in January of 2018, he was immediately sent out on loan to Cultural Leonesa in the third tier of Spanish football, only making five appearances in as many months.
When he returned for pre-season under new boss Marcelo Bielsa, he was given every opportunity by the Argentinian, starting three of their pre-season friendlies. However, he just couldn’t make his way into the first-team plans ahead of the new season, with Bielsa quoted as saying that as well as being the third choice for his position, his inability to speak English or Spanish seriously hindered his chances of playing for the club.
As a result, he was sent out on loan to German side Greuther Fürth in the second tier but had his season cut disastrously short when he suffered a knee ligament injury, although he did recover from it by the end of the season.
That injury and lack of game time is unlikely to have impressed Bielsa, so now it seems as though his time has come full circle in England, with Yahoo Sport in Japan claiming that he will be moving to Gamba Osaka after they submitted a bid for the 22-year-old.
Whilst it may seem unfair that he should move on after such a short space of time and without getting a real chance to impress, it should be pointed out that this transfer was made before Bielsa came to the club and he very much wants to imbed his footprint on the club. If selling Ideguchi on allows him to buy a player that is more suited to his style of play, and he gets to play first-team football elsewhere, particularly in his home country, then this should be seen as a win-win for all concerned.