Leeds United are trying to sign Japan international Yosuke Ideguchi ahead of the January window, according to a reliable journalist.
Yorkshire Evening Post correspondent Phil Hay revealed on his personal Twitter account on Monday morning that United are working on a deal to land Gamba Osaka midfielder Ideguchi, 21.
In other news Leeds are trying to sign 21-yr-old Japan international midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi. January deal. Plays for Gamba Osaka in J-Lg
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) September 11, 2017
Hay explained that Ideguchi is the “big surprise from Asia” that director of football Victor Orta was referring to in a Facebook Q&A with supporters last week.
this was the ‘big surprise from Asia’ that Victor Orta was talking about last week.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) September 11, 2017
Good move for Leeds?
This is a hard one to call. A four-times international at the age of 21, Ideguchi clearly has pedigree and is regarded in his homeland as creative central midfielder. Japanese players have a mixed record in English football, with Leicester’s hinji Okazaki making a big impact while Junichi Inamoto and the highly rated Shinki Kagawa failed to shine.
This Is Futbol rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
Given that Orta went public with the club’s plans to sign a “surprise” player from Asia last week, it is clear that the deal must be relatively advanced. There is a sense that Leeds are keen for the supporters to be aware of this potential signing, which, cynics might suggest, is perhaps not unrelated to the vast marketing potential of a player from sports-mad Japan.
This Is Futbol rating: 8/10