Leeds midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi has had a nightmare since signing for Leeds but his time at Elland Road could be coming to an end, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Ideguchi joined Leeds from Gamba Osaka in January 2018 for a fee of £500,000 before being loaned immediately to Cultural Leonesa. Ideguchi only made five appearances in the second half of the season as the Spanish side was relegated to the third tier, and he lost his place in the Japan squad for the World Cup finals.
The 22-year-old was then moved onto German second-tier side Greuther Fürth, where he suffered a cruciate ligament injury that limited him to seven appearances.
Now he could be set to re-join Gamba Osaka. Marcelo Bielsa doesn’t see him as part of his plans for next season and Leeds want him off the wage bill as they look to strengthen their squad for the 19/20 Championship. The two clubs are currently in talks.
It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for Ideguchi and a number of Leeds fans feel exactly the same way.
This is what Leeds fans are saying on Twitter:
Gotta feel for the lad, we haven’t half stalled his career
— Oliver Harris (@oliverharris97) June 17, 2019
Probably makes sense for all parties at this point. Feel sorry for the bloke, hope it works out for him going forward.
— Anders Lagerfjärd (@jalager) June 17, 2019
The club really let this lad down!
— Paul Medforth (@MedforthPaul) June 17, 2019
Shame, never got a proper opportunity.
— Steve Bell (@Rebel305Leeds) June 17, 2019
It’s clear that these Leeds fans feel that Ideguchi hasn’t been treated well by Leeds. It’s a refreshing take on the situation, with players often getting blamed if they don’t perform immediately. It is odd that a full international for a decent national side would be signed and never given a shot at the club.
lad was loaned out to qualify for work permit .. then sent to Germany to get more European experience but unlucky to suffer a bad leg break .. wish him well if he is to be sold, hopefully he’s fully recovered & shows his ability, don’t get why people diss him for nowt #lufc
— Dobie Carajo!! ???????? (@sportsfandays) June 17, 2019
Always wanted him to get a chance and do well. But if MB isn’t interested then need to get rid and free up money. Hope he gets his football back on track though.
— Andy Longstaff (@ClipperBoyz) June 17, 2019
Irrespective of who is to blame for the Leeds deal not working out, this fan takes a pragmatic approach. Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani warned fans of a ‘difficult summer’ after missing out on promotion. His club lost £4.3million in the 17/18 season and it is believed they will post a bigger loss for the last campaign. Ideguchi won’t make Leeds a lot of money but they’ll get his wages off the books – and every little helps. If they can get the £500k they paid for him 18 months ago it will be like the transfer never happened.
Shouldn’t of loaned him out
— Danny De la Montaña (@Yorky2860) June 17, 2019
never had a chance really came in loaned out since signing
— catchynametaken (@catchynametaken) June 17, 2019
Remember all the hype before he came? He was I think “a big surprise from Asia”. Don’t know if it was his fault that he never got a chance or whether it was just bad judgement from Orta & Co again. Even when fit he didn’t get chance. #lufc
— Watt The (@WattThe2) June 17, 2019
Never got a chance
— michael durnin (@michaeldurnin1) June 17, 2019
“Never got a chance” is the refrain that rings loud and clear from the Leeds fans. If Ideguchi does make the move back to Gamba Osaka we imagine that’s what he’ll take from the last 18 months too. Bad judgement from Victor Orta? The Leeds director of football has made a string of transfers that haven’t worked out over the last couple of years, including Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Pawel Cibicki, Felix Wiedwald, Hadi Sacko, Jay-Roy Grot, Laurens de Bock and Caleb Ekuban. He has had successes, including Adam Forshaw, Mateusz Klich and Gianni Alioski, but it’s fair to say his overall record displays a scattergun approach in the market. We’ll never know what happened behind the scenes with Ideguchi but we’re chalking this one down to Orta.