New Man Heads Out; but is it a mistake?

Leeds United have got their man in Ideguchi, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be around for long.

Having confirmed the signature of talented Japanese midfielder Ideguchi, it looks like we won’t be seeing him in a white shirt any time soon.

The club have confirmed that he will leave on a temporary basis for the remainder of the season. Ideguchi will join Spanish second division side Cultural Leonesa, who Leeds have a partnership with alongside Aspire Academy.

The original basis of the switch was due to the fact that Ideguchi may not have been granted a work permit to play in England. However, when signing his four and a half year deal at Leeds, it was confirmed Ideguchi had been given the clearance to start his Leeds career straight away.

Ideguchi becomes the first Japanese player to sign for Leeds and is very highly rated both in Europe and his native Japan, it would have been interesting to see how he would feature for the Whites during this seasons promotion hunt.

I’m a little disappointed Leeds haven’t taken the opportunity to bolster their midfield with their new signing who has cost them around £500k and instead sent him out on loan.

The 21-year old who has joined from Gamba Osaka made over 60 appearances during his time there in the J League and has featured 11 times for Japans senior team.

Leeds could regret allowing such a prominent talent leave with such a threadbare midfield and the demonising form of Eunan O’Kane and Mateusz Klich leaving much to be desired.

What’s your opinion? Could Ideguchi have been a good option for this season? Or was he better off leaving on loan? Have your say in the comments below.

By Ryan Ingham