Celtic have announced that midfielder Yousuke Ideguchi has left the club and returned to Japan on loan. The Hoops took to social media to disclose that the player is joining J-League team Avispa Fukuoka, on what is a one-year loan deal.

The 26-year-old has been unable to hold down a first-team place in his time at Celtic Park, and the move looks to be a good one for the midfielder as he will want to play football on a regular basis.

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Unlike the two other Celtic player that joined the Hoops last January, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda, the 26-year-old has struggled for playing time at Celtic Park, and it is fair to say that he hasn’t recovered from a poor challenge and resulting injury he picked up in his only start for the Hoops against Alloa last year.

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With the number of midfielders that Celtic have in the squad, it seemed inevitable that some players would depart, and the fact that Ideguchi has been unable to get any playing time this season means that his departure has been inevitable for months.

These things happen in football, and the player is not to blame for the situation, but the fact that for various reasons he has not been able to get regular first-team football at either Leeds United or Celtic perhaps indicated that Ideguchi is not best suited to Brotosh football, and he could thrive in his return to Japan.

As he has played so little football for the Hoops it is hard to tell just how good a player Ideguchi is, but as Ange Postecoglou is a good judge of transfers, you have to imagine that the player will have plenty of qualities, it is just a pity that he was unable to show them in the 12 months that he has been at Celtic Park.

Ideguchi is still under contract at Celtic for a good while yet – until 2026. So a loan move for the player looks to be sensible at this moment in time. However, should all go well in his return to Japan, Celtic will perhaps look to get a permanent transfer arranged for the midfielder.

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Celtic’s squad has evolved constantly over the last few transfer windows, and it looks like with the Japanese transfer window still open the squad will continue to evolve with the impending exit of Ideguchi.

It is unfortunate that it hasn’t worked out for him at Celtic Park, and hopefully he can get back to his best in his return to Japan, as he deserves that after injury affected his time in Glasgow.