Take II Celtic’s January signing promises relaunch

Yosuke Ideguchi is planning to relaunch his Celtic career when he clocks in at Lennoxtown tomorrow. 

The first few days of pre-season training are mainly about assessing fitness levels as individual fitness programmes and targets are set to ensure peak fitness for the season ahead. 

While Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda made flying starts to their Celtic careers after January transfers, Ideguchi’s progress came to a shuddering halt at Alloa when he was the victim of a hammer-thrower and the leniency of referee Don Robertson. 

Four more substitute appearances followed but unlike his J-League colleagues the Celtic switch never quite worked out for Ideguchi who had been in Europe previously, spending 18 months loaned out by Leeds United. 

Speaking to Japanese website Number Web, the former Gamba Osaka midfielder said: 

I had always wanted to go abroad again. When Celtic contacted me last fall, I made an immediate decision. The last time I was abroad for a year and a half, I only felt frustrated. I was determined to see how much I could do. I have a strong desire to make up for it. 

I was out of action for almost six months in Leon, which was tough. After that I had some injuries, so I went back to Japan in a way that wasn’t ideal for me. This will be my second attempt (in Europe) at Celtic. I am absolutely determined to get a result.  

Here at Celtic, it is easy to blend in as a club, and above all, there is a lot of respect for Japanese players because (Kyogo) Furuhashi has achieved results before me. 

Reo (Hatate) is also in the same position. Having a Japanese player in the team makes it easier, but it is also a limited position. I think it’s great that Reo got results first, but of course it’s frustrating [not to play]. In order to secure a permanent position here, I have to show my play and features more fully.  

Celtic’s football is very aggressive, so if I were to show my strengths, it would be in switching between offense and defence. I hope I can make the switch from defence to attack and from attack to defence. There are many offensive players in midfield, so I hope to bring out my strengths which are different from those. 

Celtic appear to be on the lookout for a defensive midfielder but the Austrian training camp and pre-season games give Ideguchi the chance to make up for lost time.