Out of the three signings that Celtic have announced already, there have been the most questions surrounding Yosuke Ideguchi. Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate were both standouts in the J1 League in the 2021 season and it is not hard to see why the club signed them. But that was not the case for the former Gamba Osaka midfielder, who is not coming off of a great campaign.

A few years ago, he was considered the next big thing in Japanese football and had even managed to break into their national team at a young age.

But a move to Leeds United did not go his way. He did not make a single appearance for the English club and instead spent underwhelming loan spells out in Germany and Spain. He was not helped by injury problems either.

This is his second chance to show what he can do in Europe. There are doubts though whether it was the right signing on the part of Celtic. Journalist Scott McIntyre’s comments should excite the fans though. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he told BBC Radio Scotland:

“I know there have been questions about Ideguchi – that he might not be as mobile perhaps as other central midfielders going around. But I think he’s a really good fit for the way Ange Postecoglou wants to play his football. There’s no reason why all three can’t come in and settle straight away.”

Celtic fans should be excited by journalist’s Ideguchi claim

At first glance, it is a confusing signing on the part of Celtic. The other three players that they have signed from the J1 League this season, Kyogo, Maeda and Hatate, all had brilliant campaigns in 2021 before arriving at Parkhead.

Thus, one has to feel that Postecoglou has a plan to get the best out of Ideguchi. Otherwise, the club would not have brought him to Parkhead, when there were other J1 League midfielders in better form.

Postecoglou has already shown that he can get the best out of underperforming players. Jota is a terrific example of that. And hopefully he will be able to do the same with Ideguchi, because there is no question about the Japanese midfielder’s potential.

This article was originally posted here